


Loose Ends - Part #1 - Minoru

by ImperfectOrphanage



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: F/F, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 15:09:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 37,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8849764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImperfectOrphanage/pseuds/ImperfectOrphanage
Summary: Twewytober was a prompt challenge run in the Twewy tag on Tumblr.
There are four parts to the full series.
Part #1 - MinoruNeku Sakuraba has become the new Conductor of Shibuya and his first order of business is fucking things up as much as possible.
Part #2 - Interim (Intermission)There are some things that are easier than others, when cleaning up the mess in the middle of Shibuya’s UG.
Part #3 - GhostsAfter the trouble with Minoru, things were beginning to get back to normal until a series of anomalous numbers and a few text messages remind Neku Sakuraba that Shibuya is anything but. 
Part #4 - IssuesSometimes, the things we bury the deepest are the first to surface.





	

**Prompt #1 – “I am not a…Vampire!”**

 

            Neku knew Composers didn’t need to sleep, but it didn’t stop Joshua from feigning vulnerability.

Frequently-when Neku came to visit after a particularly trying day-he would find Joshua laying on the sofa in the pad with a magazine dangling from the arm of the couch. Joshua’s shirt would be unbuttoned a bit too much to be anything but flirting, and on some days, Neku couldn’t help but watch the rise and fall of the Composer’s chest.

            It made him wonder, if the Composer didn’t need to sleep, did he need to breathe? Did Joshua have a heartbeat or the flow of blood through his pale skin? Neku wondered if Joshua was a ghost at times with how he could phase in and out of existence with just a thought. Despite knowing it was a stupid idea, and knowing full well it was what Joshua wanted, Neku reached out.

            His hand hovered over the ‘sleeping’ Composer and twitched as if Neku’s hand had more brains than Neku did currently. He shouldn’t. He really shouldn’t. It was a trap and he knew it.

            But Joshua sighed before curling a little tighter onto his right side. His hair fluttered over his cheek and his eyes crinkled at the disturbance.

            ‘Don’t do it, you idiot.’ Neku chanted in his head over and over uselessly.

            Not wanting to prolong the internal struggle, Neku gently placed his hand on Joshua’s chest.

            It rose and fell in perfect time-inhale, short pause, exhale. Neku could feel warmth in his fingers and the soft thump-thump of a steady heartbeat. He counted the beats for no particular reason and felt a hitch in Joshua’s breathing.

            Neku drew his hand away, half expecting Joshua to ruin the moment by opening his mouth.

            The Composer ‘slept’ on. In fact, he snorted a bit in his ‘sleep’.

            It gave Neku a little too much courage as he lifted his fingers to the curve of Joshua’s throat. He knew it was stupid-very very stupid-since he had already felt a heartbeat. Neku had no reason to check for a pulse or touch the Composer anymore than he should. But he rarely had a quiet moment with Joshua.

            His fingers grazed Joshua’s throat. He disturbed the hair on his cheek accidentally, and he pulled away with a sudden panic.

            Joshua yawned. His eyes blinked open and it seemed to take him a few seconds to realize where he was and who was with him. He glanced up at Neku with an innocent expression and in the span of a millisecond it changed to his usual snarky self.

            “Should I start locking the door, Neku?”

            “S-shut up,” Neku stammered, “I wasn’t doing anything.”

            The Composer sat up with a long stretch and yet another yawn. “You sound awfully guilty.”

            Neku frowned. “I thought Composers didn’t need to sleep?”

            “Need and want are completely separate.” Joshua fluffed his hands through his hair. He buttoned the middle two buttons but left the others loose. “The best ideas come from either sleep or the shower. Would you like to watch me in there as well?”

            He could feel his cheeks burning. “I’m not a pervert, Josh.”

            “Ah, yes. Of course not. You were merely concerned for me,” he teased. “What were you looking for, by the way? I can still feel your fingers on my skin.”

            The heat in Neku’s face spread throughout his body to a subatomic degree. “I-I-I wasn’t…looking for anything…really. I just…”

            “It isn’t as if I’m a vampire, Neku. I’m not dead,” he said, making a face, “at least, not exactly.”

            “I really don’t want to know,” Neku huffed and turned away from Joshua. He should go. He should just get up, make an excuse, and run.

Or he could just run.

            Joshua rose from the couch, interrupting Neku’s bullet train of thought. The Composer stared at him for an unnervingly long amount of time before leaning down.

            Their faces were mere centimeters apart. Neku could feel Joshua’s breath on his face and the heat continued to rise. “J-Josh…”

            “I do so enjoy making you squirm,” Joshua said with his patented smirk. He kissed Neku on the forehead as if he were a child and ruffled his hair. “I appreciate your concern but it’s better placed elsewhere.”

            Neku’s throat was dry and he swallowed against it as he watched Joshua move to the bar. He should leave. He should. He should just get up and go. Run. Run fast.

            But he didn’t. He continued to watch Joshua as the Composer made a drink. Joshua’s every little movement of interest to Neku. He was, for all purposes, a human being.

            Without thinking of the consequences or self-preservation, Neku choked out, “…so what are you, then?”

            Joshua turned, drink to his lips, eyes curious as he took a sip. “What am I?”

            “You said you weren’t a vampire,” Neku said, “so what are you?”

            He looked up at the ceiling. He pursed his lips and hummed. “I’m not sure exactly how to explain it to you, Neku. I don’t age. I don’t need to eat or drink. I live on the music of the city. The soul of Shibuya is what gives me life. As long as she continues to grow I exist.”

            Neku exhaled. Joshua was right. He didn’t understand it. “So…not a ghost.”

            Joshua laughed. “No. I’m not a ghost. You touched me, remember? I have a heartbeat.”

            “Doesn’t it get, I don’t know,” he paused, afraid to ask, “lonely?”

            A strange emotion crossed Joshua’s face. It was one Neku had never seen before.

            Pain? Anguish?

            After a long silence and several more sips of alcohol, Joshua nodded. “Yes.”

            Neku felt weird. He stood up, ran his fingers through his hair, and took a long breath. “Y-you know, you don’t have to feel lonely. I mean, I’m…I’m here.”

            Joshua’s expression went from surprise to amusement. “Are you flirting with me, Neku?”

            “Shut up, Josh. Can’t you just be normal for once?”

            “Normal,” he whispered. “Do you even know what normal is anymore?”

            “Yeah, I guess that was pretty stupid.”

            Joshua frowned and glanced at his watch. “Not that I’m not enjoying our thrilling conversation but I do have a pressing engagement and you have homework to do. I believe today it was English and Algebra?”

            He flinched. “You’ve been spying on me?”

            The Composer smiled. “Why. Neku, I guess that makes us even.”

            Neku had no time to retort before Joshua winked out of the pad, leaving a light giggle in his wake.

            Joshua might not have been a vampire, but he was still an infuriating asshole.

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #2 – “I’m…I’m fading!”**

 

            It was a reoccurring nightmare for Neku to relive the last few minutes of the Game. The pain of being shot a second time wasn’t quite as bad as the first, but the pain of being betrayed had hurt more than a thousand bullets. He had thought Joshua was his friend. He thought Joshua had as much to lose as he did.

            Neku had thought Joshua was Erased for his benefit.

            After being shot, Neku couldn’t move. The bullet had only pierced his chest but his entire body was numb and sore. He could only lay on the cold floor of the Composer’s throne room waiting for death. To add insult to injury he saw Joshua standing over him, smug as always, and who Neku had thought was his friend, Hanekoma-san. It didn’t register for a full minute, but he had been played.

            He closed his eyes and realized he had been crying. Neku’s face was wet and he wanted to dash the tears away for just a bit of dignity, but his hand wouldn’t move. His consciousness began to waver and Neku coughed on what he could only assume was blood.

            ‘I’m fading,’ he thought, ‘I’m fading away. I’m gonna turn into Noise. I’m going to be Erased.’

            Neku hadn’t heard the Composer come closer, but he could feel Joshua hovering over him.

            “What,” Neku choked out, “not done shooting me? Maybe you want to put salt in the wound?”

            Joshua snickered. “I’m surprised you can talk. But no, Neku, I’m not going to harm you anymore. You did well, my proxy.”

            “Call me that again, I dare you.” Neku opened his eyes, but he could only make out a hazy outline of Joshua’s face and hair. He wasn’t sure if it was his eyesight failing or if Joshua was glowing.

            No, he was definitely glowing.

            “What the hell,” Neku groaned.

            “Oh, right,” Joshua said, “I suppose I should lower my frequency.”

            But he didn’t. Neku frowned and tried in vain to reach out. If he had the strength he would have slapped that stupid smirk off the Composer’s face. “So I guess this means you’re gonna destroy Shibuya.”

            Joshua shrugged and sat down next to Neku’s head. His fingers began to gingerly stroke Neku’s hair, rubbing against his scalp.

It tingled from his head to his spine, and despite being in pain, Neku sighed.

“I thought about it,” Joshua said, fingers still stroking Neku’s hair, “but I suppose it would be a useless endeavor. Not to mention, if I erase Shibuya I wouldn’t be able to enjoy another one of those delicious chili dogs.”

Neku snorted. He almost laughed but he didn’t want to give Joshua the satisfaction. “You’re basing your decision on a freaking chili dog.”

“Well, not just a chili dog.”

Joshua was staring at him.

Neku felt his heart skip a beat and he chalked it up to blood loss.

“Oh, I should put you back together before you completely disappear,” Joshua said as if discussing what plans he had for the day. It was incredibly nonchalant.

“Yeah, can’t have your favorite chew toy die, right?”

Joshua laughed, and the sound wasn’t as grating as it had been in his human form. The laughter was the chiming of bells and a distant echo. He glowed with amusement but it wasn’t the gloating, overbearing amusement Joshua had when playing the Game.

His hand stopped fluffing Neku’s hair and moved to his chest. A look of intense concentration wrinkled Joshua’s face and he slid his hand into Neku’s body.

“Whoa, whoa,” Neku managed to bark out, “what the hell?”

“Neku, you need to learn to trust your partner,” he teased.

Within a few seconds the pain of the gunshot began to fade and Neku felt his body begin to repair the damage caused by it. The knitting of his skin and the absorption of blood was almost ticklish. He squirmed at the strange feeling and of Joshua’s hand still sliding around inside of him.

He felt better. Actually, he felt better than he had before dying the first time.

“Now unfortunately,” Joshua removed his ghostly hand, “I do have to send you back.”

Neku could move again. He sat up, touched his chest where the wound had been, and coughed. Despite the wound having been healed his chest ached and his body felt as if it had been in a car wreck. Everything was tender and heavy, and it was all he could do to keep sitting up.

“Josh,” he coughed again, “I still don’t like you but…”

“Hush, Neku,” he placed his hand on Neku’s forehead, “you can tell me later.”

There was no time to argue. Neku felt his body begin to tingle with electricity and he began to fade from existence once more.

He woke up in bed.

It was another dream.

“Damnit,” he hissed, sitting up in bed. He was covered in a cold sweat and he shivered as the sudden shift of his sheets sent a chill across his skin.

“Another nightmare, hm?”

Neku had grown used to having Joshua pop up in random places. At first it had startled the hell out of him but now it was just an annoyance. Well, most of the time it was.

“Y’know, it’s not endearing to stalk someone, Josh.”

Joshua looked up from one of Neku’s sketchbooks. “I wasn’t trying to be endearing, Neku. I sensed your distress and wanted to make sure no one else was laying claim to what was mine.”

“I’m not yours,” Neku grumbled, yanking the sheets off as he rose from the bed. “And I’m not some stupid prize to be fought over.”

The Composer shrugged and continued to leaf through the sketchbook. “You’re getting better. Sanae would love to see some of these.”

Neku still hadn’t forgiven him.

“But,” Joshua set the book aside, “I see he isn’t as much of an inspiration anymore.”

“No,” Neku said, tugging a shirt over his head. He hated being any kind of naked around Joshua.

Joshua stared at him, semi-expressionless.

Neku stared back, annoyed. “You can poof away now, I’m not under attack.”

He only felt slightly bad when Joshua winked out in a sparkling of light. It wasn’t Neku’s place to make Joshua feel better about being a creep. Hell, it wasn’t his place to make Joshua feel anything.

It was late-or early, whatever-but he knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. Instead, Neku picked up his sketchbook, feeling the residual warmth of Joshua’s fingers. He flipped through the pages to what should have been a blank page.

It had been blank the day before, and the day before that as Neku hadn’t had time to draw between school and social activities.

It had been blank, but now fine pencil lines twisted across the page. The work was delicate and flawed, but it had emotion. Neku could feel music in the lines, and if he stared long enough he could almost hear the focused scratching of pencil to paper.

Neku tore the picture out of the sketchbook and had every intent on stuffing it in a drawer.

Somehow, though, it ended up pinned to his corkboard.

He hoped it didn’t make him look vain.

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #3 – Pissed-off Reaper**

 

“You kept Minami-freakin’-moto.”

Joshua looked up from the book he was reading and tilted his head toward where Neku’s gaze was. Outside of the bookshop stood the once contender to the throne with a sour expression. He was rambling about digits and prime numbers in front of a pair of confused and frightened Players.

“Well, at least he keeps things interesting,” Joshua mused and returned his attention to the thrilling adventures of the week’s latest best selling protagonist.

He heard Neku grunt. “He tried to kill you.”

“Neku…” Joshua started.

“Yeah, that was stupid.”

Joshua smiled and flipped a page. “It’s alright, Neku, I’m used to your less than stellar intelligence.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Prissy Pants,” Neku argued, “but you tried to Erase Shibuya because you were bored. On the list of stupid things I think you’re number one.”

He wanted to retort with a witty comeback but before he could open his mouth, the door to the bookshop slammed open.

Minamimoto towered over Joshua with a growl. “I quit.”

“You can’t quit,” Joshua looked him up and down. “Though it appears your fashion sense has.”

The reaper hissed and lifted his hand as if to hit the Composer straight across the face.

Joshua took Minamimoto’s fist and gently pushed it back down to his side. “If I had my way, I would accept your resignation with a smile. However, the higher ups have you on community service due to the taboo Noise fiasco. You have a lot of cleaning up to do.”

“Yeah, well,” he shook with rage, “if I had my way-“

“You don’t,” Joshua interrupted him. “I believe you have at least three hours left on today’s Game. You’d better get out there and make me proud, hm?”

Minamimoto didn’t move. He glared down at Joshua with all the force of a wet kitten. After a considerably long time in which Joshua returned to reading, the reaper shouted:

“I’ll get you! You won’t always have your Conductor around to save your sorry ass!”

The door chimed as Minamimoto stormed from the bookshop.

“So, you brought Kitaniji back, too, huh?”

Joshua turned to Neku. He had almost forgot Neku was with him.

“I can’t say it surprises me,” Neku said, flipping through a magazine about the latest trends in street art across Japan and the world. “I mean, you’re kinda stuck in a-what?”

He hadn’t realized he was staring until Neku stared back. “Oh, no. I didn’t bring him back.”

Neku’s expression crinkled as he returned his attention to the magazine. The next moment felt drawn out and fraught with tension. The fifteen year old snapped his head up and around to glare at Joshua.

“No. You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t, you son of a bitch.”

Joshua shrugged. “Technically I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who killed Kitaniji.”

The magazine in Neku’s hands curled into a tube and before Joshua could react his Conductor was beating him senseless.

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #4 – Right behind you!**

 

It wasn’t as if Neku hated being a Conductor. He just had a lot on his plate at the moment and the fact he was an immortal, supernatural being didn’t help with his schoolwork.

Of course, Joshua offered the services of Minamimoto for Neku’s inability to do certain algebraic formulas, but Neku couldn’t imagine how terrible of a teacher he’d be. Not to mention how well they got along on a daily basis just passing each other on the street.

However, math wasn’t Neku’s current problem. It was Joshua.

“How do you expect me to learn all of this,” Neku grumbled. In front of him was a large collection of books with varying topics pertaining to the Game and all of its inner workings. There was even a book about Composers, and although Neku had only glanced at it, he imagined it read in bold letters:

‘Composers are assholes. Get used to it.’

Joshua smiled and placed a hand on Neku’s shoulder. “It doesn’t take as long as you’d think. Besides, time flows differently in the Underground. You’ll still have plenty of time to do your homework and hang out with your friends.”

“I hate you,” Neku huffed. “I hate you so much.”

“Now, Neku, it isn’t nice to lie,” he said, picking up one of the books titled ‘Rules and Regulations”. “You should read this one first. It’s more important than any of the others.”

“What, does it have a chapter on how to throw it out the window or do I pick that up on the job?”

Joshua snickered and dropped the book in front of Neku. “You’re so cute, Neku.”

“Call me cute one more time I dare you,” he hissed.

At random he picked up one of the books, and immediately he was sure it shouldn’t have been in the pile. He quickly picked up a few more before Joshua got wise.

“I guess I’ll start here,” he said, trying not to sound guilty. “But there’d better not be a pop quiz or anything.”

The Composer shrugged and started walking away from Neku. Joshua’s appearance melted away to light and sound, and he said nothing until he lounged on his rather uncomfortable looking throne. “I’ll come by later with dinner and we can discuss what you’ve read.”

Neku nodded. “Yeah, okay, see you then.”

He would have teleported but Joshua had yet to teach Neku something as simple as winking in and out.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The book was simple. It was red with gold lettering and about two inches thick. The cover wasn’t leather as Neku thought it should be, but a worn canvas with the corners rubbed away. When he opened it, the spine creaked but gave no real resistance. It had been read before, many times, if the dog eared pages were any indication.

Neku glanced around. Even in his own home he could never be sure when Joshua would pop out of thin air just to tease or berate him.

“Chapter One,” Neku read aloud for no real reason. Maybe he was losing his resolve.

The following five pages listed succession from one Composer to the next until Joshua. It also listed Conductors, Producers, and various important figures. Anything lower than Producer on the totem pole, however, wasn’t mentioned. It made Neku frown at the thought of how easily replaceable they were.

He flipped to the next chapter with a hitch in his breathing. It was titled with Joshua’s name and once again Neku whipped his head around to make sure he was alone. He almost felt like hiding under a blanket with a flashlight like some kid hiding from their parents.

According to the book, Yoshiya Kiryu was around Neku’s age when he entered the Game. There wasn’t an exact date or time period listed for when he became Composer, but having read the previous chapter, Neku was sure Joshua hadn’t been around too long.

Joshua had been able to see the Game from an early age. Neku remembered Hanekoma talking about how he should give Joshua a break because he hadn’t exactly had the best life. But the book didn’t go into detail on how bad his life may have been. It was sterile and read factually, not emotionally, of Joshua’s brief existence in the RG. He had parents-obviously-but their names weren’t mentioned. His father was rarely around, something Neku could sympathize with, and Joshua’s mother struggled to make ends meet.

The book had details where Neku wished it didn’t, and left out important information he wanted to know. Neku thought maybe Joshua had redacted the information somehow with his Composer powers, but the book wasn’t blocked out or scratched through, it just wasn’t there to begin with.

Neku continued reading until it came to the section about Joshua’s death.

It was important, right? He should know how Joshua-

He felt the air around him change. But when he looked he didn’t see anyone else.

Neku swallowed against the dryness in his throat and continued reading. He had always thought Joshua died suddenly. Maybe it was from a car accident or an illness. But…no…

“Why?” He asked aloud, not expecting an answer, but not surprised when it came.

“I was bored.”

Neku glanced around the room. He didn’t see Joshua.

“I’m right behind you, Neku,” he teased.

Before Neku could turn around, Joshua’s arms encircled him and his chin rested on Neku’s shoulder.

“It’s a fascinating read, isn’t it?”

“No, not really,” Neku said a little too quick. He could feel Joshua’s breath on his neck. “Uh, personal space much, Josh?”

Joshua didn’t move. If anything he held Neku tighter as he read, “Yoshiya Kiryu entered the Game due to suicide by gunshot.” His voice was amused. “Now you know why I loved shooting you.”

“That’s not funny,” Neku barked, trying to wrench free of Joshua’s embrace. “Let me go.”

“Nope.” Joshua took the book from his hands and snapped it shut. He set it down on Neku’s desk directly in front of the drawing he had done a few nights prior. His breath was hot on the nape of Neku’s neck as he whispered, “do you really want to know why I did it?”

Neku finally pulled away. “No. I don’t. It doesn’t matter, does it?”

Joshua folded his arms across his chest and made one of those thoughtful, pouting expressions. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. I was bored is a good enough excuse.”

“I doubt it was boredom. I mean, you don’t just shoot yourself in the face because you’re bored.”

There was a glow around Joshua. If Neku didn’t know better he would have thought Joshua was having difficultly keeping his RG form.

The Composer made a soft Noise and looked up at Neku with an unnerving stare.

“I wasn’t happy. I saw death everywhere I went. I saw people my age struggling to live. I didn’t meet Sanae until well into my teens and by then,” he paused, pursing his lips, “it was too late. I was focused on this level of the world. I found no joy in life if it could be taken away at any time without provocation.”

“But,” Neku tilted his head, confused, “isn’t the Game about giving meaning to life? To make you want to try harder and connect with other people?”

Joshua glanced down at the floor. He toed a piece of clothing Neku had thrown there the day before. “For most people it is. I didn’t see a point in building a life. I wanted something more.”

Neku made a face. “Isn’t that, oh, I dunno, hypocritical of you?”

“Who cares?” Joshua was back to his old self, shrugging off the question with a hum and a turn toward Neku’s desk. He appeared to be awfully engrossed in Neku’s doodles and post-it notes. “I promised dinner, didn’t I? What would you like?”

Neku inhaled. If Joshua didn’t want to talk about it, Neku wouldn’t press him. “I thought we might get chili dogs if you wanted.”

He could tell Joshua was smiling despite being turned away. The air was lighter, the music softer, and Joshua’s voice was as grating as always. “Oh, Neku, you know me so well.”

“Yeah.” Neku glanced at the book. He reached around Joshua to shove a bunch of papers on top of it. “I guess I do. C’mon, it’s my treat.”

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #5 – He’s not a pig! He’s a black cat!**

 

Neku didn’t try to keep exact time on how long it had been since the long Game. He knew it had been a couple months at least. The weather was turning bit by bit and people were wearing scarves more than shorts. With fashion changing around him at the drop of a hat, Neku didn’t try to stay up to date on the latest styles and fabrics.

He had Shiki to do it. She didn’t let Neku go more than a few days without checking his closet to make sure he wasn’t, as she delicately put it, slacking. There were more outfits from her than from the stores, and Neku had the sneaking suspicion her and Joshua had somehow met and were conspiring against him.

“Neku, Neku, Neku,” Shiki said with a click of the tongue. “You haven’t done laundry in weeks. Why are these shoes under a pile of t-shirts? Oh, Neku, you can’t leave this in the floor! It’ll wrinkle!”

“Uh, sorry, I didn’t know.”

Shiki came out of the closet with her arms covered in various fabrics. “It’s a good thing I’m here. What would you do without me?”

“I’d find something-“

She gasped so sharp and so quick that Neku thought she might have hurt herself. “Find something? You don’t just find something. This is Shibuya, Neku. You have standards to keep.”

Neku sighed in resignation. “Right. I’ll try better.”

“Don’t worry,” she smiled, arms shaking under the pile of clothes, “I’ll take care of you. If you want, I’ll start some laundry and then we can take some updated measurements…”

Her voice faded into another room. Neku could hear her fighting with the laundry machine and balking at the plain, cheap detergent Neku had. While he waited for her to return he began lining up shoes and picking up the room as best he could. He wasn’t great at keeping house. There were papers over the desk and at the end of his rumpled bed. A few bowls and plates were stacked next to a bookshelf from where he’d eaten late and didn’t have the energy to take them to the kitchen.

“Neku, would you like me to put some rice on?”

He didn’t answer her. He waited for her to enter the small kitchenette.

“Oh, oh no.”

Neku winced. “Yeah, I, uh, I’ve been meaning to clean.”

“Since when?” She peeked around the corner. “Since you were eight?”

“Maybe five,” he teased, but her expression didn’t reflect his amusement. “I’m sorry, Shiki. It’s just…I’ve been sorta busy…”

She disappeared back around the corner and the sound of dishes being washed echoed in the small apartment. Barely audible under the clinking and the water running, Shiki was humming and singing some random pop song.

Neku continued tidying up his room until it seemed livable. It wasn’t long before Shiki came back in with a towel in her hands.

“There. That’s better. Now you,” she tossed the towel toward the laundry basket in Neku’s closet, “undress.”

Months ago, Neku would have protested, but he’d gotten used to Shiki invading his privacy like a doting mother or older sister. Neku had neither so it was nice to have someone to fuss over him. Besides, Shiki didn’t make it at all uncomfortable. She stuck to fashion and the only mention of his body was about how sharp his hips were or how he needed to eat more.

Shiki knelt over a large tote bag she had obviously made herself. It was pieced together with random bits of scraps and fat quarters. She pulled out several stacks of fabric and set them on the messy desk before pulling out her pins and tape measure. At the bottom of the bag sat Mr. Mew. He looked a little worse for wear.

“Are you still tugging him around?” Neku leaned over the bag. “Piggy looks a bit rough.”

“He’s not a pig, he’s a black cat! Honestly, Neku,” she huffed, but her eyes were smiling. “Mr. Mew’s been doubling as a pincushion.”

Neku clapped a hand over his heart in mock sincerity. “I feel you, Mr. Mew.”

Shiki punched him in the leg. “I only stabbed you twice.”

“Each time or…?”

He laughed as she playfully tossed some silk brocade at his face. “Okay, okay. What’re you making me now?”

“You need more shirts. Maybe a few slacks since the weather is turning off cold,” she explained, glancing at the smudged window. A few leaves fluttered past. “Do you have a coat?”

“Yeah, it’s, uhm,” Neku glanced at his closet, “I think it’s in the back. Do you have time for all of this? I feel sorta bad having you make all these clothes.”

Shiki looked at him in surprise. She quickly looked back down at the different fabrics and began sorting them into stacks. “Of course I have time, Neku. I don’t have many other social engagements and this is my future. You’re going to be my portfolio.”

“You mean I’m gonna be in the portfolio?” He felt a little self-conscious and only slightly worried about being a Conductor in a fashion magazine.

“No,” she shook her head and turned toward him to drape something purple across his shoulder, “you’re the whole thing. At least, for the boys. Rhyme’s letting me use her for the dresses.”

“Thank God for small favors.”

Shiki laughed and commenced measuring and pinning fabric.

Neku knew better than to say anything or to try and make conversation. She was too focused with remembering numbers and calculating seams and darts. Every so often she would mark a number down on her yellow pad of paper with a handful of pins sticking out of her mouth. Neku worried she’d swallow one but so far it hadn’t happened.

Outside the window, the sun was setting and the sky began to turn a hazy orange. The lights of the city sparkled against the gradient of approaching night. Inside the apartment there were only a couple of lights on, and the desk lamp wasn’t doing much to cut through the dark.

“Do you want me to turn on a light?” He asked, looking down at Shiki as she pinned a cuff. “I mean, it’s kinda dark and I don’t want you getting a headache.”

She waved her hand, mouth still full of pins, and tugged on the end of the cuff. Once satisfied, she leaned back, pulled the pins from between her lips, and hummed. “Good. I think we’re all set. Remember, take it off slowly.”

Neku could hear Joshua in the back of his head. ‘Yes, Neku, take it off very slowly.’ It made him nervous and he shimmed out of the soft fabric before folding it exactly as Shiki had taught him. She’d wandered off to put the clothes in the dryer or to check the rice-Neku wasn’t sure which. It gave him a little time to tug on some old pajamas Shiki didn’t particularly like. They were very dingy and had more holes than a golf course, but they were comfortable and warm.

He sat on the edge of the bed, waffling between wanting to help Shiki and being afraid she’d find him a nuisance since he didn’t know what the symbols on the care tags meant. Luckily he could hear her in the living room mumbling something about a lint filter.

She entered the bedroom and frowned at Neku’s pajamas. “Well, I guess that’s it for the night.”

“Thanks, Shiki,” he smiled, “you’re too good to me.”

“Someone needs to be,” she returned, and gently packed the fabric and the pinned clothes into her tote bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow, maybe? It’s Sunday. We could catch lunch with Eri and go over some more designs.”

Neku started to agree but he remembered he had plans with Joshua. “Sorry, I can’t. I’m…working.”

“Oh, you got a job?”

“Well, not exactly,” he mumbled, “it’s more of an internship?”

Shiki stood up with her tote bag slung over one shoulder. “Really? That’s great, Neku! Technically I’m interning for a fashion magazine. There’s this guy who knows a lot of people in the business. Eri does the designs and I help with the models under his name.”

Neku immediately thought it must have been the Prince. “Sweet. Do I know him?”

“Hm, I don’t know,” she said, and fished around in her bag for a curled up magazine. “He’s on the third page.”

He flipped the magazine open and felt the color drain from his face.  No freaking way.

“Oh, so you know him?” Shiki tilted her head. “He’s apparently into all sorts of art around the city. Some even think he’s the mysterious CAT.”

“Heh,” Neku tried to sound genuine in his amusement, “yeah, maybe he is.”

Shiki smiled and glanced at her watch. “Oh, shoot. I promised Eri I’d stay over at her place. I’m so sorry, Neku, I have to go.”

“You don’t want to tick her off,” Neku teased, and shoved Shiki in the back. He tossed the magazine back in her bag and shooed her out the door.

It was quiet aside from the sound of the dryer bumping around. He pulled his phone out, flipped it open, and scrolled through his contacts. His finger hesitated over the third name in the list and he ended up hitting cancel before snapping the phone shut.

Maybe he’d catch a coffee on the way to work tomorrow.

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #6 – Second chance (1)**

 

It was late in the day when Hanekoma decided to visit Joshua. He hadn’t seen the kid-or Neku for that matter-in a few days. If he left Joshua to his own devices for more than a week the world might end. After all, if Joshua got bored, he got creative in the worst way possible.

Hanekoma hadn’t seen much of Neku since the long Game concluded. Neku came by for coffee twice, but they didn’t really talk. He just sat at the counter staring into the coffee cup until Joshua managed to pop in with a stack of paperwork and a list of distractions. Neku would drop a few coins on the counter and leave without saying a word. Hanekoma hoped eventually the kid would forgive him for what he’d helped Joshua do and for keeping it on the down low.

Either way, the Producer needed to see Joshua about a few things, and he had to deliver reports from the Higher Ups. He had everything in a neat stack and a few manila envelopes.

He could hear the two arguing about one thing or another, but the closer he got to the door to the pad, the more worried he got about the subject matter.

“Josh, you can’t just erase me,” Neku shouted, sounding somewhat worried, “that’s cheating you know!”

“Oh, Neku,” Joshua said, his voice amused and lilting, “it isn’t cheating. It’s my rules, remember?”

Neku growled and the sound of something falling to the floor made Hanekoma wince.

The Composer giggled in his usual infuriating way and Neku shrieked.

“Hey, boss,” Hanekoma threw the door open, expecting to see half of the pad destroyed and Neku turned into a pile of ash-or Noise. He wouldn’t put it past Joshua to keep the kid as a pet.

The pad was intact, however, and the two boys stood facing each other with similar looks of surprise. Joshua laughed and swiped something from Neku’s hands that made the boy squeak.

“Give that back!” Neku tried to wrench it from Joshua’s hands. “This is the last time I ask you to play video Games with me, you sore loser.”

Joshua huffed and handed the controller back to Neku. “I didn’t lose.”

“Like hell you didn’t,” Neku turned away and knelt down to fiddle with the console, “you tried to delete my file. I spent hours on it, you jackass.”

Hanekoma hadn’t moved since entering the pad. He could see Neku wasn’t actually upset, his expression had turned from a pout to a resigned grin. Joshua, on the other hand, was staring at Neku with a gaze Hanekoma hadn’t seen in years. In fact, he hadn’t seen it since Joshua was alive.

The Composer’s eyes were filled with actual happiness. Not the mock amusement or teasing joy he usually showed to the world. He was smiling. He was…

…well, he was a kid.

Joshua finally looked at him. The expression fell from his face and he was once again guarded, his mouth tilted into a smirk and his eyes free of emotion.

“You’re late. Those reports should have been here twelve hours ago.”

Hanekoma glanced down, having forgot he had them. He handed them over to Joshua with a, “Heh, right, boss.”

Joshua flipped through them and frowned. It was almost as if Neku could sense the shift in Joshua’s temperament and he immediately came to stand beside him. The Composer pointed various numbers and charts out to Neku, explaining exactly what they meant and why they weren’t good.

“Well,” Hanekoma said, and started to duck out of the pad, “I’ll see ya later-“

“Why don’t you stay?” Joshua asked, not looking up from the papers. He handed half of the stack to Neku. “We’ve been exploring the fascinating world of retro gaming.”

Neku sat the papers down on the arm of the couch. “Yeah, if Josh stops trying to cheat with his Composer powers.”

“I only did it the one time,” Joshua retorted.

“Still,” Neku grumbled.

Hanekoma frowned. “I don’t think I’d be very good company.”

Neku looked at him-really looked at him-and blinked. “You could referee.”

“Oh, yes!” Joshua plopped down on the couch. “Maybe if Neku sees I’m not cheating he won’t try to steal the controller away from me.”

“I didn’t start that, you did.” Neku sat down next to him and elbowed Joshua in the side, earning a soft giggle from him. “I’m so gonna own you.”

Joshua smiled. “I don’t think so.”

Hanekoma decided it might be best to stay, if only to keep an eye on both of them. “If I’m gonna stay I need somethin’ stronger than coffee.”

The boys didn’t reply. They were too focused on the screen and on coming up with witty jabs.

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #6 – Second chance (2)**

 

“You’re thinking about her again, aren’t you?”

Joshua’s voice broke through Neku’s concentration. He glanced up at the Composer-the actual form of the Composer-leaning over him with a smile.

Neku looked back down at the image on his smartphone. He had been forced to get one by Joshua, since Hanekoma could do far better upgrades to a current model phone. Joshua’s orange flip phone had been mostly for looks, mostly because he had previously broken his smartphone by dropping it. Neku was confused at first when Hanekoma told him, but it made more sense when the coffee guru explained Joshua dropped it from atop 104.

Neku was just grateful it didn’t kill anyone.

The pair had shown Neku a variety of interesting features on his new phone. It had all the latest gadgets and gizmos, but it also had UG specific programming. Neku could get a signal almost anywhere-except for certain places inside of Joshua’s sewer hideout. The phone had email and internet with no data limits, and it had a somewhat creepy feature.

Hanekoma had designed and assisted in programming the app with the help of the Higher Ups. The app allowed the Composer and Conductor to basically stalk anyone. Neku was certain Joshua didn’t need an app for that-heh-but Neku didn’t have the power or the reach Joshua did.

“She’s cute,” Joshua said, snatching the phone away from Neku. “A little on the young side, don’t you think?”

Neku snorted. “I’m not gonna date her. She’s at least five years younger than me.”

“And her brother would probably kill you. I don’t particularly care for a meathead as a Conductor.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Give it back.”

Joshua held it just out of arms reach. “Why do you keep doing this to yourself, Neku? You should be happy I even let her come back. She did lose the Game, after all.”

“Yeah, but,” he bit his lip. “It’s my fault. I-“

“It’s not your fault,” Joshua said quickly. “Neku, she knew what she was getting into by joining the Game. She also knew what she would lose if she didn’t make it. Although I’m quite powerful, I don’t have the authority to return entrance fees once they are lost.”

Neku stared at the table in front of him. “But she’s just a kid. To live without dreams isn’t really living, is it?”

“Oh.” Joshua blinked. He set the phone back down on the table. “Oh, Neku, you poor simple kid.”

He wanted to punch Joshua in the face on many occasions, such as this one, but he knew not to risk it when Joshua was showing his true form. Instead, Neku settled for a seething glare.

“What the hell do you mean by that?”

Joshua giggled. Again, it sounded like music. “You’re cute, Neku. Just because she lost her dreams and ambitions, it doesn’t mean she can’t make new ones.”

Now he felt as simple as Joshua assumed. “Huh?”

The Composer lighted on the chair next to Neku. “When you were a child, what did you want to be?”

Neku had to think seriously about it. When he was a small child, he wanted to be a dinosaur. He learned in pre-school it wasn’t possible to become another species-though with the whole Noise form thing Neku wasn’t sure it applied anymore. He got older and began reading books about the world, and it made him want to see every inch of it.

His old friend had wanted to be some sort of medical professional at first. Neku couldn’t remember the details, but he’d agreed to do whatever his friend wanted so they could go to university together. It wasn’t until after he had died that Neku wanted to just…exist. He hadn’t thought of his future much until the Game, and even then he wasn’t sure.

Joshua had been watching and waiting for a response, his hand resting gently on Neku’s.

“I don’t know,” Neku finally said. “I guess I never really thought about it?”

“Well I for one thought you would make a cute dinosaur.”

Neku yanked his hand back. “Stop that.”

“But it’s fun to poke around in your head,” he giggled before his expression grew serious. “The point is, Neku, dreams are constantly changing as you grow. Just as entrance fees are never the same from Game to Game, a person is always evolving and changing. Rhyme might not have her old dreams and ambitions, but she can make new ones. However, she won’t have the same fulfillment as she would have originally. She will always feel something is missing in her life, but with enough love and care, she won’t suffer.”

“I still feel bad for her.”

Joshua’s light flickered and he shivered back into his human form. “Neku, you care too much. Does she look like she’s suffering? Is she unhappy?”

They both looked at the phone. Rhyme was laughing at her brother doing something ridiculous on his skateboard while trying to take care of a broken arm. How he had broken it was an entirely other story involving a girl he had a thing for downtown. The pair looked happy enough.

“I guess she’s alright,” he said, clicking the phone off. He stared at it for a long while. A stray thought filtered through his mind and he frowned. “What was yours?”

“Hm? My what?”

“What was your entrance fee? I mean, you did have to play the Game at least once, right?”

Joshua hummed in his throat. “Well, yes. I didn’t make it to the seventh day. By then I was Composer.”

“So, did you get to keep your fee or…”

The Composer stared at Neku. “Honestly, I don’t remember what it was.”

Neku narrowed his eyes. “You don’t remember or you don’t remember?”

“I don’t remember as in, I don’t care to remember. What does it matter? I have all the power of a Composer at my fingertips and a city flowing through me. Why would I need anything else?”

“Gee, I dunno. Maybe to be that much more human?”

Joshua flinched a bit. “Now, that isn’t nice at all, Neku.”

“Sorry. I just,” he exhaled, “I just want to understand you.”

It was the first time Neku saw a bit of pink on Joshua’s cheeks and nose. He looked flustered, and his mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“You want to understand me,” Joshua said finally. It wasn’t a question.

Neku grinned. “Yeah. You’re my friend, Josh. I want to know what’s going on in that brain of yours.”

Another voice jumped into their conversation. Hanekoma set two cups of coffee onto the table. “I don’t think even Josh knows what’s goin’ on up there.”

“I have more going on up here than either of you two could possibly imagine.” Joshua took a sip of the coffee, made a face, and took another sip. “I see you were censured in other ways, Sanae.”

Hanekoma winced. “That ain’t funny, boss.”

“You didn’t answer me,” Neku interjected. “What was your entrance fee?”

Joshua continued taking little sips of the coffee. He swirled the liquid around in the cup and set it back down on the table next to Neku’s. Without another word he twinkled out of existence, ending the conversation.

At least, ending the conversation for now.

Neku would make sure it wasn’t the end of it.

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #7 – Freak fashion Friday**

 

After school on a hazy Friday afternoon, Neku had been requested to help Joshua run a few errands. He was a little nervous on what exactly Joshua meant by errands. Did it mean he was going to have to actually deal with the Game hands on this week? Neku hadn’t much training while Hanekoma and Joshua continued to clean up the mess from the long Game.

He was afraid Joshua might make him erase someone, and the thought made Neku shutter.

Joshua was waiting for him at the Scramble Crossing, just outside of 104, his smartphone in one hand. He looked rather bored as he flicked his finger across the screen. When he noticed Neku he smiled.

It still unnerved Neku to see Joshua happy.

Neku crossed the street, hands in his pockets as he fidgeted with a few coins to keep calm. “So, what’er we doing today?”

“Something important,” Joshua said, and turned away. “Follow me.”

“I’m not going to kill someone, am I?”

Joshua paused. He glanced over his shoulder at Neku with a mildly annoyed look. “Not this week, Neku, dear. I fully intend on allowing you to work the next Game. It will be good for you.”

“Ookay,” Neku drawled. “So, is it something important?”

“Neku, do you have a pressing engagement? Perhaps you’re going on a date?” Joshua didn’t have to look at Neku. His voice was bubbling with amusement. “Should I be jealous?”

“It’s not that I just-“ He stopped. “Never mind, I’m just nervous is all.”

Joshua waved his hand. They continued down the street to one of the more affluent sections of the city. There were expensive eateries and stores surrounding tall apartment complexes and little shops Neku was sure he’d never be able to shop in. It was a side of the city he hadn’t much experience with.

They stopped in front of one apartment complex and Joshua looked up. “I haven’t been here in a while.”

Neku had the sudden thought of what exactly a Composer would need with an apartment. It was followed by the question on whether or not Joshua even HAD an apartment. Neku hadn’t seen him any other place than the streets, the sewer, and the Wild Cat café.

Joshua took Neku by the arm and pulled him inside the rather immaculate lobby. The walls were clean white and the trim on the elevators and doors was polished and shining from the light of artistic hanging lamps. A woman stood at the counter and she smiled as Joshua continued to drag Neku to the elevators.

“I feel dirty,” Neku said as they stepped on the elevator.

Joshua giggled and pressed one of the double digit floor buttons. “I’m sure it will be a change for you.”

The elevator rose slowly. Neku felt his collar tighten. “Are we visiting someone? I should have brought a gift or something.”

“Worry not, Neku.” Joshua was playing with his phone again. “You’ll understand once we get there.”

Neku frowned. “This isn’t a love hotel, is it?”

Joshua burst out in a peel of laughter. “Neku, dear, we haven’t even kissed. Are you implying you want to take out relationship to the next level?”

“No, I just don’t put it past you to try something like that just to annoy me.”

“I have better things to do than plan intricate ways to mess with you, Neku. But if you’re offering I wouldn’t mind to take you up on it. You’ve never really felt passion until you feel it in the UG.”

Neku felt his face grow hot and a cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck. “N-no. I don’t…I haven’t…”

The elevator chimed as it reached their floor and Neku all but leapt into the hall as soon as the doors were wide enough. He could hear Joshua’s amused snicker as he exited the elevator with a bit more grace.

“To your right, Neku. We’re looking for 1205,” he said, still messing around with his phone. How he didn’t plow into a wall was anyone’s guess. “It should be right there.”

Neku was too busy looking at the carpet and the walls. They looked practically brand new. He barely noticed Joshua opening the door to the apartment before he was hastily dragged inside by his arm. The inside of the apartment was dark, but Neku could still tell it was expansive. The windows on the opposite side were so far away and so large he could make an outline of the furniture in the main living area.

The light clicked on and Joshua went further into the apartment before shutting his phone off. He set it on the bar to the kitchenette before opening the refrigerator. “Goodness, I really should have come sooner.”

Neku didn’t move. He stood in the entrance and tried to take in every bit of the apartment he could. The main living space was larger than two of his apartment. It smelled nicer, too. Not that his apartment smelled bad or anything, it was just old and needed some work.

“What are we doing here?” He finally had the courage to ask.

“We’re cleaning,” Joshua said. He began looking through the cabinets. “Megumi was quite a mess.”

“Wait,” Neku stammered, “this is his apartment? We’re in a dead guy’s apartment.”

Joshua looked at Neku with one brow raised. “Are you uncomfortable? I thought it would be nice to have you closer to me.”

Neku felt a bit faint. “What, do you live here, too?”

“Oh, no, not here. I live further up.” Joshua laughed. “Oh, Neku, did you think I lived in the sewer?”

“I didn’t really think about it. I mean, you’re some immortal guy who doesn’t really-“ He shook his head. “Why would you even need an apartment?”

“I happen to enjoy a little down time between Games. I also love to collect things and I need a space in which to keep them. You should see the library I have. Oh!” Joshua clapped his hands as if remembering something. “You’ve reminded me of why I really wanted to come here.”

Neku shivered. “It’s not anything I should worry about, is it?”

“Nope,” Joshua said with a wave. He moved from the kitchen to a room down the hall. It was dark until Joshua clicked on a rather colorful light. “Oh, dear. Megumi really was into the 70s…”

Okay, Neku thought, I’ve got to see this.

He went down the hall and nearly fell over.

The bedroom had a freaking disco ball and a lamp with various colored light bulbs. There were brightly colored pieces of furniture and a shag rug thick enough to hide a dog. Inside the closet-where Joshua was standing-the clothes were, well, weird.

Neku stood next to Joshua. The Composer looked pale as he pushed the clothes around in the closet.

“I feel sick,” he said, “I honestly think I might pass out.”

The clothes were old, obviously. They screamed sixties and seventies with loud colors and odd angles. There were silver shirts and gold slacks. A dresser tucked in the corner was leaking large necklaces and several odd shaped sunglasses. It looked like it was in as much pain as Joshua.

“Well, I knew the guy was a freak,” Neku said to lighten the mood, “but this just takes the cake.”

Joshua snorted. “It took the cake and the chef, murdered them both, and spread their insides all over the walls.”

Neku blanched. “That’s morbidly accurate. I’m just surprised he didn’t have a heart shaped bed.”

They both glanced back at the bed. It was covered in satin sheets and an animal print comforter. They exchanged glances before both of them began to laugh.

Of course, Neku laughed a bit more nervously. It seemed bad to speak ill of the dead.

“I suppose we should burn these,” Joshua sighed, pulling one of the shirts from the closet. “I don’t feel right about donating them.”

“Yeah, no. I don’t think anyone would want them. I wouldn’t even show this to Shiki and Eri. They might explode,” Neku said, poking a particularly large necklace.

He couldn’t help himself. He picked up the peace sign and dropped it around his neck. It hung to about his belly button. Megumi had been quite a bit taller than Neku.

The sight made Joshua laugh. He took the shirt he was holding and tugged it on. It was a yellow spotted affair with large buttons. He took a jacket and pulled it on over the shirt before snagging one of the pairs of sunglasses.

“You look like a mess,” Neku snickered, sounding far too much like Joshua for his comfort. “Hey, what about this thing?”

He pulled a large vest with fringe from the back of the closet. It only felt slightly wrong to be putting on a dead man’s clothes but Neku had come this far and Joshua was enjoying himself.

They continued to play around until Joshua was heavily layered. He looked nearly uncomfortable but his eyes were smiling. “I suppose we’ll need to completely sanitize the apartment.”

Neku took off one of the hats he had been wearing. “How does that work? Do we just burn the apartment building down before this spreads?”

“No, it’s far simpler than that.” Joshua lifted his arms. “It’s much better if you close your eyes.”

“I don’t trust you,” he teased, but closed his eyes regardless.

A few seconds later he felt light. His body tingled with music and the energy around them sparked with electricity and sound. Neku wanted to open his eyes, but he kept them shut as the waves of music fluttered over his skin. It didn’t last as long as he’d hoped, and when he did eventually open his eyes, he saw Joshua’s Composer form standing before him.

The apartment was empty. All of what had been Megumi’s was gone and the walls were a sterile white. The carpet was replaced by dark wood floors and the lamp was a simple silver post with one bright light bulb.

“It looks,” Neku turned in a circle, “kinda boring.”

“But here’s the best part,” Joshua said, placing his hands on Neku’s shoulders. “You get to decorate it however you want. I would recommend new furniture. What you have at home isn’t exactly up to par.”

Neku frowned. “I like my apartment.”

“You’re moving up in the world, Neku. You have higher standards.”

He didn’t want it. He didn’t want a hand-me-down. He didn’t want something so completely removed from his own life that it made him feel uncomfortable. But Joshua wanted him closer for whatever reason. Neku was actually being paid to be a Conductor-how he wasn’t entirely sure, Joshua just showed up one day with a bank account number-and he did need to look the part.

“This is too much,” he finally said. “It’s too much too soon. I don’t feel right, Josh.”

The Composer’s energy relaxed and without looking Neku knew Joshua was back in his human form. “Well, you could always bunk with me until you feel a bit better about it.”

Neku turned, Joshua’s hands still on his shoulders. “That’s actually nice of you for a change.”

“I’m always nice,” he said with mock hurt. “Would you like to see my apartment? It’s somewhat simplistic compared to Megumi’s but I like to call it home.”

“I’m not sure,” he whispered, followed by, “I guess we could order pizza and you could show me your collections, whatever they are.”

Joshua smiled one of his rare true smiles of happiness. It was almost peaceful. “Of course we can. Though not at the same time. I don’t want to get food all over.”

“Yeah, that’s cool.” Neku tried to pull away from his hands but they squeezed tighter. “Hey-“

He almost jumped out of his skin when Joshua hugged him. It wasn’t perverted or weird, it was just so incredibly sudden and so gentle that Neku felt his heart panic at the touch. He hadn’t been held much since his mother passed away and his father buried himself in work. The only hugs he had gotten were from Shiki and Eri, and every so often from Rhyme. But those were always quick and held a completely different feeling than what he was feeling now.

Before he could verbally question it, Joshua had pulled away. Neku watched as Joshua left the bedroom. His legs were too shaky to follow at first, but eventually he managed to join Joshua at the entrance. The Composer was fiddling with his phone again, probably ordering food or room service from whatever high class restaurant he was trying to get Neku hooked on this week.

“Well, shall we?” Joshua held his arm out to Neku. “I’m two floors above. I have the entire floor to myself.”

Somehow it didn’t surprise Neku.

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #8 – The spirit of Shibuya**

 

Sunday morning, Neku rose with the sun. It was hard not to considering Joshua’s bedroom had one wall of tall windows. There was a balcony beyond, but Neku wasn’t brave enough to step out onto it.

He stretched and yawned. The Composer was still sleeping on the other end of the huge bed. It was large enough to fit three people without them touching. Neku couldn’t help but watch the morning sun caress Joshua’s face and arm. It made him look more human.

Neku pulled the sheets away from his legs and slid extra carefully from the bed. At least he still had his shorts and t-shirt on. It was odd how Joshua hadn’t tried to tease him even a little. They had fallen asleep after the best leftover pizza Neku had ever tasted alongside a Game of chess. Obviously he lost, but Joshua hadn’t called him stupid. Instead he tried to teach Neku what he did wrong.

The rest of the apartment was just as brightly lit as the bedroom. It was one of those open concept apartments with a large living area and a wide kitchen. Everything was immaculate and seemed too expensive to touch. The couch had been far too comfortable and the television hung above a false fireplace. Neku wasn’t sure why Joshua needed a fireplace except for maybe looking cool.

He scratched at his chest and entered the kitchen to find breakfast. Joshua had explained the reason Neku still needed sleep and food was because he hadn’t completely transitioned into Conductorhood. It felt weird having one foot in the RG and one in the UG. Neku still kept up with schoolwork, though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to graduate or not. It didn’t seem to matter if he had a degree.

Rummaging through the cabinets he found a box of cereal and a bowl. In the fridge was a fresh gallon of milk and he found the silverware drawer filled with shiny spoons and forks. They didn’t look like they’d been used.

Neku took his cereal past the couch to a small table and chair next to the windows. The apartment was high enough to see the peaks of the tall buildings and enough of the sky to see the haze hanging over the city. He took a bite of his cereal and watched.

A few minutes later he heard footsteps behind him. Joshua walked heavier when he first woke up. He came to sit across from Neku at the little table but he didn’t say anything. His smartphone was in his hand and he was reading through a list of numbers.

“You look worse than you did last night,” Neku said, chomping on another spoonful of cereal.

Joshua looked up at him. His hair was fluffed to one side and his shirt was rumpled. “I slept.”

“Well, yeah,” Neku said, putting the spoon down in his now empty bowl. “That’s what happens at night, usually in a bed.”

“No,” he yawned, “I actually slept.”

Neku blinked. “I thought Composers didn’t need sleep?”

“We don’t,” he fiddled with his phone some more, “but I felt oddly comfortable having you near me.”

Neku tried not to look as embarrassed as he felt. “Okay, so, today’s the day, right?”

The Composer nodded once. He slid the phone to Neku. “Twenty-two Players.”

“Twenty-two,” he repeated. The phone listed numbers, dates, and names of the various Players. It also listed entry fees. Neku felt sick. He pushed the phone back to Joshua. “I don’t know about this.”

“Sanae is available if you need help. Unfortunately, I will be out of reach until the sixth day. I don’t want this to be easy on you, Neku. The sooner you jump into things, the faster you will learn.”

Neku turned his attention to the sky. “What do I do?”

“A Conductor isn’t as hands on as the Game Masters are. You take the fees and pass them along to me. You make sure the Harriers are doing their job and that the GMs are giving out commands for the Players. Other than that, you have to do a lot of paperwork on who is Erased, when they were Erased, how they were Erased, and what is to become of them is my job.”

“It seems like a lot of work-“

“Of course it is. Shibuya counts on us to make her as beautiful as possible. Which is another thing I wanted to show you before the Game. Do you feel up to the balcony? I know last night you couldn’t get past the door.” Joshua laughed a little. “I don’t think you need to worry about dying.”

Neku made a face. “Yeah, whatever.”

Joshua rose and slid the sliding glass door open. He stepped onto the balcony and the wind fluttered his hair and clothes.

The balcony was large enough to fit several potted plants and a couple chairs. It had a slight overhang from the roof to keep one spot in the shade. The railing-if it could be called that-was a waist high concrete wall.

Neku felt shaky. He stepped close to the wall and slowly peered over while trying to ignore Joshua’s barely concealed giggling.

Shibuya lay below. The streets were filled with people and Noise. There were schoolchildren and men in business suits. Alongside were mothers collected in small groups with their infants in tow. A few shopkeepers were sweeping the sidewalk in front of their shops and a couple were putting their wares out in front.

It was then Neku realized he shouldn’t be able to see such detail so far away.

He jerked back from the wall. “What was that?”

Joshua smiled. “The spirit of Shibuya flows through you and me. It allows you to not only feel her pulse in your veins, but to see what she sees. The city is filled with energy. Can you hear her music?”

Neku gingerly stepped closer to the wall. He closed his eyes as the wind whipped around him.

There were no words for what he felt. He couldn’t separate one section of energy from another. There was the feeling of age and growth in the buildings and the streets. The energy twisted and turned from bubbling excitement to fear and panic. Underneath it all was a gentle hum. It tickled Neku’s skin and he shivered at the enormity of it all.

“I-,” he choked. “I can’t-“

Joshua’s hand slid onto the small of Neku’s back. “Just breathe.”

He could hear it. The music of Shibuya. It was more than beautiful. Neku felt tears sliding down his cheeks and he reached up to dash them away. He didn’t want to look weak or stupid.

“It’s alright,” Joshua said, “I did the same when I became Composer. Now you see why we need the Game. The energy of her people is what makes Shibuya a glimmering jewel. Win or lose, the Players are making her more and more beautiful.”

Neku opened his eyes and leaned further over the balcony. “Hey, I can see Noise down there.”

“Mmhm. Which reminds me. You haven’t shifted into your Noise form yet, have you?”

“I just hope it’s not a dinosaur.” Neku pulled back from the wall. “Is that something I’m gonna need a lot?”

“It’s really just a precaution. The Players usually don’t make it as far as the Game Master. But in rare cases, such as yours, one or two might challenge the Conductor and you will need to defend yourself.”

A thought came to Neku. “Do you have one?”

“A Noise form? Of course. But I rarely use it. Simply changing into what you called Mr. Glowy is enough.”

“Heh. Well, you do light up a room.”

Joshua grinned. “As do you, my little proxy.”

“Don’t ever call me that again,” Neku grumbled and went back into the apartment.

He needed to get ready for the Game.

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #9 – But your clothes..they’re um…**

 

It was the first day of the Game and Neku couldn’t keep his palms from sweating.

Joshua still hadn’t taught him how to move into a Noise form or to transport, but at least Neku knew how to phase from the RG to the UG.

There were twenty-two frightened faces in front of him. He’d chosen to introduce the Game more tenderly than Megumi ever did. The kids looked from each other in a panic and Neku remembered the feeling of waking up confused before having to run for his life.

He tried his best to sound authoritative as he explained why they were there. He swallowed, feeling a little weird saying, “you’ve got seven days. If you fail, you’ll be Erased.”

In the small crowd was a pair of girls who’d obviously known each other. They whispered back and forth.

“Hey,” Neku barked, “this is important.”

“But your clothes, they’re um,” one girl frowned as if unable to put it to words.

The other girl piped up. “You don’t look like a god of death.”

Neku narrowed his eyes. “I’m not a god of death. I’m what’s standing between you and the rest of your life.”

“It’s hard to take a walking disaster seriously,” one of the boys chimed in, and the group snickered in unison. “I mean, look at that shirt.”

It wasn’t long before the entire group of twenty-two young men and women were mocking and laughing at Neku’s choice of casual fashion. But before they could keep teasing him, there was a sudden flash of light, a small earthquake, and a collection of Noise sprung from the ground and air. The teens began to scream and run, completely forgetting the pact part of Neku’s speech.

Neku hadn’t called the Noise. He hadn’t even used a psych.

But he could see who had.

“Oi, next time I’m aimin’ for you,” Sho said, adjusting his hat.

“Yeah, uh, thanks I guess,” Neku managed to stutter out.

The harrier snorted. “Keh! I didn’t do it for you.”

Neku watched him join the fray. He laughed and threw mathematical jargon at the Players as he took two-no, three-out immediately. Neku couldn’t help but watch the insanity unfold. It was like a train wreck. You just couldn’t look away from the carnage despite feeling sick down to your toes.

He started to leave-by foot, damnit Joshua-and a large Noise jumped in his path. Neku flinched back on instinct but the Noise didn’t seem to be dangerous to him. It actually growled softly and wagged its graffiti tail before licking Neku across the face like a dog. The Noise yipped and leapt away.

Wiping a sleeve across his face, Neku grumbled.

Hooray for the first day.

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #10 – It’s a Dude! With…Wings!**

 

It was a dream. It had to be a dream.

But it was the weirdest dream Neku had yet had after becoming Conductor. For some reason he separated his life by the Game. Before Conductorhood, he was one person, after accepting his role in the Game he was an entirely different person.

His dreams were spiraling into strange territory the deeper he got into the UG. The latest recurring dream was about Noise and screaming, but this wasn’t that dream. It was weirder.

A boy was sitting in front of him, back turned, neatly trimmed hair fluttering against his pale neck. The boy had large wings protruding from his back. They had ripped through the fabric of his white shirt and his back was splattered with blood. He was crying, which is what made Neku think it was a boy. His voice was deeper than a girl’s voice should be.

Neku wanted to help him, but he couldn’t move at a normal speed in the dream. He felt weighted down. It was almost like swimming in jelly. Neku reached out and brushed the edge of one wing.

The boy gasped, his sobs hitching. “I’ve lost it. I’ve lost it.”

“What,” Neku coughed, his voice coming out too soft, “what did you lose?”

His wings shuttered as he started to turn toward Neku. Face still in shadow, Neku could see the boy’s hands were bloody and pressed tightly to his chest. When his hands slipped down, there was a gaping hole where a heart should be.

“I’ve lost it,” he said, and when he looked up into Neku’s eyes, the dream came crashing down.

Neku flew up from his pillow. It took a moment for him to gather his bearings. He was in bed with Joshua again, and the time on the clock read 2:09. The Composer was shifting in the bed, disturbed by Neku’s sudden movement, and he curled tighter against Neku’s hip.

Oh, OH.

Joshua mumbled something under his breath. He blinked his eyes open and looked up at Neku with what could be called bedroom eyes. Joshua gave a languid smile before stiffening in the bed. He drew away from Neku’s skin as if burned.

“N-neku,” he inhaled, “you startled me.”

“Yeah,” Neku ran a hand through his hair. “So did you.”

Joshua pulled himself up into a sit. “Did you have another nightmare?”

“You could say that,” he sighed. “I saw a dude with…with wings.”

He could feel Joshua tense despite them not touching. “Wings?”

“They were bleeding. His chest,” he paused, rubbing his own chest, “it was gushing blood and his heart wasn’t in there. It was just gone.”

Joshua had begun to shiver.

“Hey, are you okay? You look sick.” Neku tried to touch him but Joshua flinched away and slid to the very edge of the bed. “Hey.”

“I’m fine, Neku.”

“You don’t sound fine,” he said, and again tried to reach out. His fingers brushed Joshua’s and the Composer took a heavy breath. Against better judgment, Neku threaded his fingers through Joshua’s and squeezed. “He said he’d lost it.”

Joshua refused to meet Neku’s gaze. “Yes. He did.”

“It was you, wasn’t it? It looked like you but he was…he was just a kid.”

“You’re just a kid,” Joshua hissed, and he seemed to regret it. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

Neku pulled his hand away and hugged his legs to his chest. The room was quiet save for Joshua’s breathing and the sound of the city beyond the glass.

“It was your entrance fee, wasn’t it?” Neku glanced over at Joshua.

The Composer-who had started to faintly glow-was rubbing his chest in circles. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“C’mon, Josh. How am I supposed to understand you if-“

“I don’t want to be understood!” He shouted. The air was electric. “Why can’t you leave things alone, Neku? It isn’t important. Just…just…just GO.”

Neku felt as if he’d been hit. “What?”

“Go. Go home, Neku. I don’t want you here.” Joshua yanked the sheets back and got out of bed. He left the room in a hurry but he didn’t leave the apartment.

Maybe if Neku waited, Joshua would calm down and talk. He hoped he would, at least.

A few minutes passed and Neku gently rose from the bed. He peeked out into the living room and didn’t see Joshua. There was a light on in the bathroom down the hall and the sound of the shower hissed through the crack of the door. Neku took a deep breath, swallowed against the lump in his throat, and marched to the bathroom door.

“Hey-“ he began to push the door open, but immediately froze when he saw Joshua.

The usually calm and collected Joshua was standing in front of the shower. A warm mist surrounded him and a pair of angelic wings. They were more beautiful than in the dream, and Neku again wanted to touch them.

He didn’t, though. He wanted to give Joshua a little space. But then Neku noticed a river of red on the white tile floor. He panicked, afraid Joshua might have done something stupid, and yanked him around.

Joshua hadn’t done anything stupid. His chest was weeping blood. Thankfully, Neku thought, the wound wasn’t quite as large as it had been in the dream.

“I lost it,” Joshua whispered, “but it still hurts.”

Neku didn’t know what else to do. He took a towel from the rack and pressed it to the wound. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll clean you up and-“

The room began to spin. Not so much for the heat and the tension as it was Joshua.

He’d slammed Neku against the wall hard enough to elicit a groan of pain, and before Neku could react, the Composer’s mouth was on his.

Joshua was kissing him. JOSHUA.

Neku tried to fend him off. It didn’t take much. Joshua crumpled to the floor with a cry.

“It still hurts,” he whimpered. The wound had enlarged and blood leaked from between his fingers. He held them up to Neku. “Is this what you wanted to see? Didn’t you want to see me human, Neku?”

“Josh,” Neku shivered, still reeling from the kiss. “I didn’t want you to hurt I just wanted to know-“

“I can’t love. Are you happy? My entrance fee was my heart,” he sucked in a breath, “and I cannot love.”

Neku frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, you’ve got feelings.”

Joshua laughed bitterly. “Yes, Neku. I have feelings. I can be sad or happy. I can enjoy the company of a friend. I can hate and I can feel passion. If I try to love it hurts. It hurts so much.”

“I’m sorry,” Neku whispered. He knelt down and pressed the towel back to Joshua’s chest. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m here for you. I’m more than your friend, Josh. I’m your partner.”

The Composer hissed at the pressure on his chest but he didn’t push Neku away. It was a quiet few moments while the bleeding slowed and Joshua finally began breathing without obvious pain. The shower was still running and the bathroom was filled with steam, making the walls fade into white.

“I’m alright,” Joshua breathed, “you can let go.”

Neku pulled the towel away. The wound had closed but Joshua was covered in dried blood.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“I was hurt long before I met you,” Joshua whispered. His eyes widened a bit and he brushed his fingers over Neku’s mouth and cheek. “I bled on you. I’m sorry.”

“Wow, I need a camera. Did you just apologize to me?” Neku teased. He hoped it would be alright.

Joshua smiled. “I know it doesn’t happen often enough. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“Did you mean to kiss me?” Neku smiled back, but then his mouth fell open. “Oh, wait, you kissed me. You can’t love and you kissed me. Oh, OH. Joshua, what…what…”

“Well, I’ve gone and ruined a perfectly good Sunday. I’m not,” he paused, looking more like his old self, “in love with you. I wanted to see if I could be.”

Neku narrowed his eyes. He was pretty sure Joshua was lying, but he didn’t want to upset him again. “Yeah, okay. You get cleaned up and I’ll make some toast or something.”

“Oh, Neku. Breakfast in bed sounds wonderful.”

“Shut up, you ass.”

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #11 – Game Over**

 

Neku poured over the stacks of books he’d been given previously. There had to be something in at least one of them about entrance fees. So far he’d only found who managed them and what might happen after a Player lost the Game. Either the current Composer absorbed the entrance fee to better Shibuya, or it was crushed into Noise food. Neku couldn’t find anything about Composer to Composer transactions.

If Joshua had lost his entrance fee because he became Composer, Neku thought there must have been half a chance it was still out there somewhere. Maybe lost to Joshua, but not lost entirely.

Hanekoma had told Neku to stop prying when he tried to ask about it. “It’s not safe, Neku. The higher-ups don’t like it when ya mettle.”

He ignored the Producer’s warning and continued researching. There were books dog eared, bookmarked, and split open across the floor of his mostly unfurnished apartment. At least he did have a nice rug to sit on in the living room.

It must have been hours he spent in the floor, because it was nearly midnight when Joshua showed up at his door with cheap takeout ramen. Apparently he’d been calling Neku’s phone, but it kept going to voicemail.

“Yeah, uh, sorry,” Neku said, scratching at the back of his neck. It ached a bit from being bent over. “I guess I just didn’t hear it.”

Joshua glanced over Neku’s shoulder. “Oh, you’re studying. I have to say I’m glad you’ve taken such an interest in your position.”

“Heh, yeah, you could say that,” he muttered as he stepped aside to let Joshua in.

The Composer set the food out on the only piece of furniture Neku did have. It was a small card table with two plastic chairs. “However,” he began opening cartons and setting out chopsticks, “Sanae tells me you’re treading into dangerous territory. You’ve been asking questions.”

Neku went still. “I’m just trying to help.”

“Oh, no, you’re not,” Joshua said, “because being Erased by the Higher Ups isn’t helpful at all.”

“But-“

Joshua’s expression was stern. “Neku, you need to stop.”

The food smelled far too good and Neku found his attention slipping. He hadn’t eaten all day and the table was beckoning him with the promise of his favorite type of ramen. Joshua’s words didn’t register until Neku had a least one bite of the hot food.

“Sorry, Josh,” he slurped up a noodle, “I just thought you’d want it back.”

Joshua sat down and began eating more politely than Neku. “I’m not unhappy. You really do need to stop trying to fix problems you’ve no need to fix.”

He thought about Rhyme. “I don’t like to see the people I like suffer.”

“I’m not suffering. I had a small lapse of control last night. It isn’t anything to worry about.” He swirled his chopsticks through the air as he spoke. “Besides, you’re still new to the job and you have more important things to learn. We need to go over the basics this week.”

Neku nodded, still eating as quickly as possible. “S’good.”

Joshua smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Days passed since Neku agreed not to pry. He’d tried putting the books and research away but each night he would pull a book off the stack and reread it incase he’d missed something. The reapers were no help when he asked, and the Game masters weren’t very forthcoming with information. Again he tried to broach the subject with Hanekoma, but again he was shot down.

It rankled in Neku for some strange reason. He couldn’t place why it was so important.

The sun had begun to set and the city was as lively as ever. Neku had at least learned how to keep his frequency level in the UG. He could walk through and past people without a thought. There were still Noise and harriers about, but he ignored them as they ignored him.

Except, there was one Noise who constantly seemed to tail him. It was that dog thing from his first Game.

Neku remembered the Game masters and such had been cats in their Noise forms, so he was sure it couldn’t be any of them. He did remember wolves and other dog-like creatures as basic Noise, but basic Noise didn’t have much consciousness past eating Players.

“Hey, boy,” he called to the large graffiti dog. It was red and blue with sharp black lines. “C’mere.”

The dog pranced toward Neku and shoved it’s muzzle against Neku’s hand. It had gentle eyes.

Neku scratched the dog behind the ears and under the chin. “Good boy. Who do you belong to, eh?”

It barked, looking over Neku’s shoulder with a growl.

“Neku Sakuraba, I presume?”

He turned toward the unfamiliar voice.

The twenty-something man stood with a gun pointed straight toward Neku’s chest. Behind the man was a pair of dark, feathered wings. He smirked. “You’ve been asking questions.”

“Yeah, uh, sorry, who are you?” Neku stepped back a bit and the Noise butted against him protectively.

“It’s Game over for you, little Conductor.” He cocked the gun back. “You shouldn’t have looked for me.”

Neku flinched. “Looked for you? I wasn’t-“

Oh. Oh, shit.

That was Neku’s last thought as the gun fired.

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #12 – They just laugh and talk like idiots**

 

Neku wasn’t sure what had happened between the sound of the gunshot and the aftermath. There was blood-sprayed across the pavement and splattered on his clothes-and there was silence. The gun lay in the middle of the busy Scramble Crossing and the Noise dog was standing between Neku and the winged man.

It wasn’t Neku’s blood. He wasn’t shot, he didn’t hurt, and he couldn’t feel any injuries.

“Hey,” he asked the crumpled form of the man, “are you okay?”

The man coughed up blood. He was trying to push up from the ground but his arms were shaking.  A pair of dark eyes flicked toward Neku and the man growled. “Do I look okay to you? Get this damn thing off of me.”

Neku wasn’t sure how to call Noise so he did what any dog owner would. He whistled.

It bounded over to him. The Noise seemed proud of itself.

“Damn,” the man spat and managed to rise to unsteady legs. One of his wings were bent at an odd angle and his clothes were torn. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“I didn’t do anything, he’s not mine,” Neku tried to argue. “I mean, he just showed up and-“

“Stop. Your voice irritates me.”

Neku bit his lip to silence.

The man snapped his wing with a loud crack to straighten it out. He then drew some strange sigil in the air with his fingers and the blood began to dry up. His wounds healed, but his clothes were still trashed. The man rubbed a hand across his mouth. “You’re in serious trouble, Neku Sakuraba.”

“You can just call me Neku,” he said. “I mean, most of the people who shoot me do.”

Apparently humor was lost on the man. “The Higher Ups are not pleased with what you are doing. It is considered tampering with the Game and its rules. We set the rules and you follow them. Entrance fees are non-refundable. Your precious Composer’s heart is forfeit for eternity.”

Neku folded his arms. “I don’t think so. It has to be in some form. You didn’t just erase it completely.”

“You foolish boy,” the man knelt down to pick his gun up, “even if we did have his heart-“

“That makes me think you do,” Neku said braver than he felt. “I mean, you wouldn’t say it like that unless you do keep some of the entrance fees. So you’ve gotta have something.”

The man tucked the revolver into his hip holster. “I was sent as a warning. If you continue to pry we will have no choice but to erase you and appoint a new Conductor. You should be glad we even allowed Yoshiya Kiryu to continue being Composer after what he’s done.”

Neku frowned. He didn’t feel threatened. “Yeah, no. What Joshua did was for the best of Shibuya. Even I can feel how good she is now. Why don’t you go back to wherever you came from and leave us alone.”

“You would do well to watch your tongue.”

Neku opened his mouth to throw another smart comment at the man but he felt a change in the energy in the area and immediately he knew he was in trouble.

The Composer stood before him, back turned. “What are the higher ups doing in my territory?”

“You need to keep your Conductor on a shorter leash,” the man said. “He has been formally warned.”

Neku expected Joshua to sass the man to death or to say something pithy. Instead, Joshua bowed politely.

“You have my word. I will make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The man gave a curt nod and turned, disappearing in a flurry of black feathers.

Before even one feather could touch the ground, Joshua was on Neku. His glowing hands encircled each of Neku’s upper arms and shook him hard. “What did I tell you? What did Sanae tell you?”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t let it go!”

The Composer’s face wasn’t at all clear in the haze of light, but Neku could make out a desperation in his gaze and panic in his voice.

“I cannot protect you from them. If you do this again I have no choice, Neku. You will be Erased,” he said, shaking him again for effect, “and not one molecule will remain. You won’t be Noise. You won’t be energy. You won’t be anything.”

Neku swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”

“Apologizing for your actions does not undo them. Neku Sakuraba,” he paused, his voice hitching, “you are hereby confined to the UG and your powers are to be censured for an indefinite amount of time.”

“Wait! That’s not fair!” Neku ripped away from Joshua’s hands. “You can’t just take my life away like that! I’ve got school and Shiki needs to see me about some work and-“

The air around them grew cold. “Perhaps if you are taken away from what you love, you might appreciate your position more. I order you to return to your apartment. I will deal with you in detail tonight.”

“You can’t just tell me what to do!”

A sudden flash of light engulfed him and Neku landed hard on the rug in his living room. He tried to phase out of the apartment but nothing happened. He ran to the door but it didn’t open.

Neku growled and screamed at the air. “I’m not some kid you can just punish! Let me out of here!”

There was-obviously-no response. He pounded his fists on the door until they hurt. Eventually he collapsed into a sit with his back against the door. Neku knew he had royally screwed up. But it wasn’t as if he’d actually wanted the job of Conductor. It’d been forced on him.

“Damnit,” he folded his arms over his knees and rested his chin against his legs. “Fuck.”

It was no use being angry. He shoved away from the door and went to the balcony. At least the sliding glass door hadn’t been locked, but Neku was sure jumping from the balcony would be a stupid idea. He stood at the wall and peered down at the streets below.

Shibuya hadn’t abandoned him. He could still see the streets as if he were on them. There were people wandering around, laughing and talking like idiots. If they only had a clue as to what had happened in the middle of the Scramble just a few moments prior.

He pulled away from the wall and turned to enter his apartment. Neku was met by a wall of flesh.

“Ouch.” He looked up. “What now?”

Joshua was still in his Composer form, but the wings were hidden. “Why, Neku?”

“I told you,” he shoved Joshua as he walked around him, “I don’t like to see my friends suffer.”

“You are making me suffer,” Joshua said. “Please, Neku, listen to me.”

Neku deflated. “Yeah.”

“We’re in this together. We’re partners,” Joshua whispered. “You need to trust me not only as your partner and Composer, but as your friend. I care for you, Neku.”

“I care for you, too,” he said, turning around. “It’s gotta suck not being able to love.”

Joshua’s gaze shifted to the right. A few seconds later and he had lowered his frequency. “Neku, please stop trying to fix problems you have no reason to fix. Promise me.”

He wanted to. He really wanted to promise Joshua he’d stop.

Looking up, Neku could see the pain and fear in Joshua’s face. He hadn’t seen a look close to that since the taboo Noise situation. It had been a time when Joshua was truly at risk of being Erased.

Neku held his hand out to Joshua. “I promise.”

Joshua curled his fingers over Neku’s and gave his hand one quick shake. “It’s a pact. No more meddling.”

“Yeah,” Neku said. “I won’t break anymore rules.”

“Oh? Who said anything about breaking rules?” Joshua was back. “I mean, I love breaking rules. It makes things more interesting.”

“You’re insufferable.”

Joshua grinned. “You really shouldn’t lie, Neku. It makes you look weak.”

“I’ll show you weak,” he mock hissed and shoved the Composer into the living room. “We’ve got chess tonight, right?”

“Yes, but I’ll have to insist you stay at my place.” Joshua had moved away from Neku to look at a tall CD holder leaned against the wall. “You’ve interesting taste in music.”

It was strange how easy they flowed from rage and panic to calm and normal. Neku shrugged but said nothing as he tried to put the pieces of the afternoon back together. He wondered what happened to the Noise dog and he was way too curious about the man with black wings.

“Hey, Josh,” he eased into the question, “what happens to Composers when they’re replaced?”

Joshua was looking at the back of one of the CDs with an amused expression. “In my case he relented before erasure and was sent to the Higher Plane. In layman’s terms, he ascended into angel form. It’s hard to reincarnate a soul vibrating at such a high frequency. They did try it a few times but it failed horribly.”

“So,” he stepped closer, “what happens if they don’t relent?”

“Hm, I’m not sure. I believe Sanae said they can’t be Erased because it would destroy the city they’re connected with.” Joshua placed the CD back and ran his finger down the rest. “Why do you ask?”

“I think that guy was-“

“Yes, he was,” Joshua said. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t remember his name but he was tired with the state of Shibuya and stepped down the moment he knew I could defeat him in battle. The Higher Ups took him to their plane of existence and he’s been a paper pusher for quite some time now. You were looking for him, right?”

Neku sighed and leaned against the wall next to Joshua. “Yeah. I thought maybe he’d have your entrance fee. I think he does. He said ‘if I had it’, which makes him sorta guilty.”

“No more questions.” Joshua pushed off from the wall. “Or do I need to put an actual leash on you?”

“Ew. I’m not into that sort of thing.”

Joshua giggled. “No, but there is a version of you out there who is.”

“What.”

The Composer shrugged. “Remind me to tell you about alternate universes someday. But not today. It’s time for pizza and chess. I’m white.”

Neku grumbled. “Yeah, yeah. But I’m ordering the pizza this time.”

* * *

 

  
**Prompt #13 – Who the hell approved that costume?**

 

Two days into house arrest and Neku was still staying with Joshua. It wasn’t as terrible as he’d thought it’d be since Joshua allowed him to have a laptop with video conferencing. They were currently in a conference with Shiki and Eri since they, too, were watching a show about the latest fashions. Joshua had told Neku it was a must to learn trends, and the girls had become fast friends with him over dresses.

Neku wondered if Joshua had ever worn a dress outside of the week they spent together in the Game. He had the body for it.

Not that Neku noticed his body or anything. He just had the hips and bone structure-

He shook his head-he really needed to stop thinking about Joshua.

“Who the hell approved that costume?” Shiki’s voice crackled over the laptop. “I can’t even call it fashion.”

Eri called from the back of the room where she was lightly banging her head on the wall. “It’s like, someone dressing up ironically at Halloween. It’s so terrible it’s frightening!”

Joshua snickered. He was cradling a glass of some sweet alcohol in his right hand. His left was threaded through his hair as he leaned on the couch arm with his elbow. He was slightly inebriated if the flush on his cheeks meant anything.

“Yeah, I dunno. Even I wouldn’t wear that,” Neku said. The next series to come out weren’t half bad, but Shiki and Eri were still picking each outfit apart.

“Oh, that seam is wretched.” “How could they put that on television?” “Why am I not surprised X company did X outfit as a rehash.”

On and on until Neku wasn’t learning anything except to keep most of his closet hidden from them both. He glanced at the side table and frowned at the fruity concoction Joshua had mixed up for him.

‘Trust me,’ he’d said, ‘it’ll be better with a drink.’

Neku hadn’t really drank before. He was a little worried about letting his guard down around Joshua, especially since he was censured and had less of a chance of escaping. But the drink did look good, and it smelled like an orange creamsickle. He thought Joshua might have called it that, but he had been busy fixing the internet connection at the time and couldn’t remember.

He lifted the glass, the cold condensation making it slippery. “What was in this again?”

“Hm?” Joshua tilted his head. “Oh, you’ll have to guess. If you can, I didn’t mix it right.”

Neku gulped. “You’re not gonna molest me are you?”

“If I do,” his attention was back on the television, “it wouldn’t be against your wishes.”

“Jerk,” he snorted. Without another moment of hesitation he took a sip.

Oh. Oh wow.

“Hey, this is good. It’s like ice cream,” Neku hummed, “and I can’t taste any alcohol in it. It’s supposed to be bitter, right?”

Joshua nodded, still focused on the television.

Neku hummed again and took another drink. It wasn’t just good, it was delicious. What was it he’d heard his father say once? If you can’t taste the alcohol-

“Meh,” he said, and took another drink.

Around fifteen minutes later, Neku had drank half of the glass and was feeling pretty good. He was smiling and laughing alongside the girls and Joshua. The fashion swirled by in flashes of color and sound-wow, he could hear the music of the creators-and the room seemed to glow. He giggled at a random joke Shiki told about one of the designers and took another drink.

“D’sh good,” he snickered, “it’sh very good.”

Joshua turned to look at him fully. “Neku, you might want to slow down.”

“B’why?” He was full of laughter. Before Joshua could snatch the glass away he swallowed the rest of it down. “Mm, make me an’ther.”

“I hate to cut this party short,” he said to the girls, “but Neku isn’t feeling well.”

“Too bad!” Eri called from the back of the room. “Take care of him, okay?”

Shiki leaned forward. “It was nice to meet you, Joshua.”

“Same,” Joshua said with a wave and closed the laptop. “Neku…wait, Neku, don’t!”

“B’sh hot in ‘ere.” He had taken his shirt off and he was well on his way to removing his socks. “I’sh stuck.”

Joshua placed a hand on Neku’s arm. “Stop. You’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk, you are,” he giggled. Joshua was glowing but not from being a Composer. Neku reached out to pat Joshua’s cheek. “I think you’re cute.”

The Composer’s face turned a slightly darker shade of pink. “Neku, you’re going to hate yourself in the morning.”

Neku made a Noise suspiciously sounding like a tee-hee. “But I can hate myself right now. Neku, y’can’t do nuttin’ right. You’re a turrible Conduuctor.”

Joshua laughed at him but quickly stifled it. “C’mon, let’s go to bed.”

“Hooray!” He threw his arms up as Joshua guided him to stand. Neku felt wobbly and loose. His legs weren’t cooperating with him and his head was too heavy to hold up for long. “J’sh, will you come, too?”

“I think it’s best I-“

Neku fell against Joshua. He was a breath away from Joshua’s neck. The Composer smelled like salt and sweetness. “Y’eat too much junk.”

“You can’t critique my eating habits when you live off of ramen,” Joshua said, hoisting him up by his belt loops. He guided Neku to the bedroom and made him sit on the side.

“You’re just jelly ‘cause I’m,” he paused. “What am I again? Wait, who am I?”

Joshua pushed him onto his back. “You are Neku Sakuraba and you are sixteen years old.”

He stared up at Joshua. The bed felt like clouds. He was floating on a cloud so it must have meant he was in heaven and the boy above him was an angel. There was a hazy outline of wings behind him and Neku giggled uncontrollably. “Are y’gonna take me t’heaven?”

“I could, but you wouldn’t like me in the morning.”

“I don’t like y’now,” he teased, burping on the drink. Neku sat up on the bed and rocked in a circle due to his balance being completely off. “I love ya.”

“No, you don’t,” Joshua smiled and pushed him more gently to lay back. “I’m going to take your socks off and you are going to sleep.”

Neku popped back up. “W’you? I would love t’sleep w’you.”

The Composer stood to his full height and sighed. “Neku, please. You are making it difficult for me to keep a clear head. I could sleep with you, but you don’t really want that.”

He frowned, not sure exactly what he wanted. The room was bright, the air was filled with music, and the boy before him was warm. Neku giggled and grabbed Joshua’s shirt to tug him down onto the bed. He planted his lips on Joshua’s.

It was sudden, and Joshua’s back tensed as soon as Neku tried to put his tongue between Joshua’s lips.

“You taste soft,” Neku said.

Then he felt it. His stomach gurgled, his head throbbed, and he felt the alcohol assault his senses before he cried out, “Uh oh!”

Joshua leapt back but it wasn’t fast enough.

Neku had vomited all over Joshua’s shirt, pants, and slippers.

“You, you,” Joshua stammered.

“I dun feel g’d,” Neku mumbled. He fell back on the bed and ignored the burning sensation in his throat and on his skin where he’d thrown up. The bed was comfortable and his head felt like a Noise was doing the mambo on his brain. He could feel a cold, wet cloth on his face. It was gently stroking his skin to clean it of the vomit.

Neku could feel Joshua’s tender hands as they straightened him up and slid the covers over his legs. The inside of the bed was soft and cool against his skin. Within two breaths he was asleep. He dreamed of things he really shouldn’t have dreamed.

The next morning he woke up with the taste of cotton in his mouth, and a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach at the memory of kissing Joshua.

He wasn’t sure how much alcohol he would need to die of poisoning but he hoped it was enough.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Aside #1 – The Talk (between #13-#14)**

 

Neku was working on a sketch for one of his side projects while Joshua was talking animatedly on the phone with Hanekoma. The background noise helped Neku focus on his lines and on the details of the sketch. For some reason, he’d found Joshua’s voice good for keeping his mind on things. Maybe it was because Joshua was a Composer, or maybe Neku just enjoyed not being alone.

“Yes, he’s fine,” Joshua said, leaning back on the couch with one arm over the back. He glanced at Neku and smiled one of his teasing grins. “Oh, no. If he gets too out of hand I’ll probably have to put him in handcuffs. Maybe I should give him a little spanking, hm?”

Neku rolled his eyes and continued working. “You’re such an asshole.”

A giggle was Joshua’s response and he returned to talking about work. “I’m going to need a little help next week with the preparations. There’s going to be a bit of a change in the next game. I want to keep it interesting for Neku.”

“Yeah, okay,” Neku mumbled under his breath. “Like it’s not already.”

He tried to ignore Joshua while focusing on a particularly hard to pin down idea. His fingers cramped from working all day on different things, but he had to get this one finished. It wasn’t until a shadow fell over the desk that Neku noticed it was quiet. Joshua was leaning over him with a bemused expression.

“What now,” Neku said, less of a question and more of a complaint. “Hey, don’t touch that.”

Joshua had picked up one of the doodles he’d worked on the other day. It wasn’t anything special. Just a collections of pins with a few little patterns here and there. The Composer hummed and pointed at one in particular.

“You should show this to Sanae. He might like it.”

“I dunno.” Neku set his pencil down and stretched his fingers. “I mean, it’s not that great.”

“Neku,” Joshua started.

It always frightened Neku to hear the gears rolling in Joshua’s head when he said Neku’s name. It could mean more work and training to be a Conductor or it could mean another bullet or two.

“I was wondering,” he continued, “if you’ve been lonely.”

“Wait, what?” Neku did a double take. “You’re concerned for me?”

Joshua frowned. “I can’t be worried about my Conductor?”

Neku leaned back in his chair. “I dunno. Can you?”

“You’re being mean,” Joshua clicked his tongue. “Naughty, Neku. I should punish you.”

“Gee, I’m not sure how much more I can take,” he said sarcastically. “Are you going to Neku-Neku me to death or-“

“I only did Neku-Neku one time,” Joshua defended. He sat back down on the couch and patted the cushion next to him. “Come sit with me.”

“You’re not going to try and molest me, are you?” Neku pushed up from the chair and moved toward the couch but he didn’t sit. He folded his arms across his chest and gave Joshua a questioning look.

Joshua patted the cushion again. “I promise not to do anything too forward.”

“Ookay,” Neku said, and sat down. “What’dya want to talk about?”

“Now before you get upset, I’m only asking for the good of Shibuya.” Joshua waited for Neku to nod. “Alright, I want to know, Neku, what is your orientation?”

“My what.”

“You know,” he turned more toward Neku, “your sexuality. I’m only curious because I haven’t seen you date anyone before or after the game, and you never seem to mind my teasing. What are you?”

Neku narrowed his eyes. “What are you?”

“Ambiguous.”

“Yeah, same.”

“Neku…”

“Fine. I don’t know. I’m not really into that stuff.”

Joshua tapped a finger to his lips. “Hm. Do you like girls or boys?”

“Neither? I don’t know.” Neku felt flustered. “Why is it important? Does a Conductor have to have a certain amount of sex to make Shibuya happy or something?”

“No, of course not. Though it could help your creativity.” Joshua sighed. “It does help mine.”

Neku felt the rush of blood from his toes to his brain. He didn’t really want to think about Joshua doing anything with anyone-especially as a Composer. He was so tall and wavy in his true form. How did he even HAVE sex? Neku shuttered.

Stop, Neku, just stop before you picture him-

Too late. Joshua. Naked.

“Neku, are you alright, dear? You look faint,” Joshua said, not teasing, not amused. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have asked. You are a bit young.”

“I’m fifteen,” he bit back. “How old are you?”

Joshua shrugged. “I’m older than I was when I died.”

“So you’ve got experience then.”

It was Joshua’s turn to look surprised. “Of course. I’ve mentioned it before. Why, are you curious?”

“I can’t think of any-“

Without prompting, Joshua began listing off a few names Neku had never heard before. He then went on to say a few Neku did know, and the thought made Neku’s head swim.

“Oh, and Sanae, obviously.”

Neku stared. His brain had stopped working. Neku.exe has been infected by the pervert virus.

It took a full minute to restart his thinking. “No. I-no.”

“I could have him teach you!” Joshua looked far too happy about whoring Neku out to his Producer. “Oh, Neku it’s not a bad thing. You’ll be an adult soon and-“

“I am not having the sex talk with my boss. I’m not. This is a nightmare.”

Joshua laughed. He leaned back into the couch cushions and folded his hands on his lap. “You could be asexual. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Asexual?” Neku could only think of science class and biology.

“You know,” Joshua turned back toward Neku and folded his legs, “you’re not interested.”

“I’m really not.”

Joshua gave Neku a small smile and a pat to his arm. “It’s unfortunate, but I respect it.”

“Huh,” Neku poked Joshua in the forehead, “you’re not trying to get in my pants. It’s kinda creepy.”

The Composer shrugged. “I’m not always about boundaries but in this case…”

“Hey,” Neku tilted his head, “what do you mean by unfortunate?”

“Oh, that,” Joshua popped up off the couch and started toward the kitchen, “Megumi and I used to have quite a lot of fun on Saturday nights.”

Again, Neku’s brain slowed to a crawl. He watched Joshua begin making drinks in the kitchen. The Composer seemed so sure of himself. Neku wondered how old Joshua really was because Megumi had to have been in his late twenties at least. Either way, it was kinda disgusting to think about.

Neku realized, though, that it made sense when Megumi practically tried to absorb Joshua at the end. If they had been in sync, they must have worked well together until the end. He hoped Joshua didn’t expect a sexual relationship. Neku just wasn’t ready for it. Especially after being drunk the other day.

Joshua looked up from the glasses of fizzing soda. “You look worked up.”

“Er, no,” Neku responded. “I’m just thinking. It’s kinda weird to picture you naked. NOT that I am. I mean, I don’t see you ever getting that vulnerable.”

“Neku,” his voice was soft, “a little trust between friends goes a long way.”

“Yeah, trust I have. But not that much.”

Joshua didn’t say anything as he brought the drinks to the couch and handed one to Neku. He crossed his legs, took a sip, and set the soda on the side table before picking up the remote. “Isn’t tonight the big Tin Pin playoff?”

“Ah, shit, that’s right,” Neku said, falling into line without a hitch.

The television announcer was excitedly yelling about the pairs and the entire match as a whole. He shouted so fast and so loud it was almost impossible to make out any words.

Neku felt a finger on the back of his neck. He snapped his head to look and saw Joshua grinning like a cat.

“Just teasing,” he lilted, and placed his arm on the back of the couch behind Neku.

It was probably a stupid idea, but Neku scooted closer to Joshua just so the arm would fall to his shoulders.

He didn’t have to look to feel Joshua’s pleasure at the touch. It wasn’t sexual. It wasn’t dirty. It felt…nice.

Neku didn’t feel alone. He hadn’t felt alone in a long time. It wasn’t the game or his friends who made him feel as if he had a place in the world. It was Joshua, his Composer, his friend, his…partner.

Turning to glance at Joshua their eyes met and Neku gave him a faint smile.

It was returned in kind.

The rest of the night was calm and quiet as they watched television without needing to say a single word to each other.

It was nice to have a friend.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Aside #2 – That Guy (between #13-#14)**

 

It was unusually warm and Neku had been allowed to go to the RG for an afternoon. Joshua had things to do and he had told Neku to have fun until three o’clock. Neku decided to take the couple of hours he was allowed and wander the city. He had called Shiki and Eri, who were busy making mock ups for their portfolio, and as a last resort, called Beat to see if he had anything going on. Beat was apparently being tutored. He’d told Neku he wanted to be a good example for his sister and had started applying himself in school.

Neku knew it had to have been the game that pushed such a change and he was happy for them.

There wasn’t much to do alone. The record store didn’t have anything new and the fashion boutiques were far too busy to do anything but window shop. He stopped by a few new stores but wasn’t impressed. Shiki and Eri did ten times better work.

Without much else to do, Neku stopped at the bookstore Joshua seemed to like. There were a lot of books, obviously, and it was kind of overwhelming when Neku didn’t know what to look for. Joshua enjoyed all sorts of topics from fantasy to in-depth scientific studies. One of the series Joshua seemed to follow had a new book out and Neku knew he didn’t have it yet. There was enough money in his bank account to buy literally anything in the store, but Neku wasn’t sure what else to get.

He browsed the aisles and found a small section of old books in a glass case. They were extremely old-some over a hundred years-and the prices were heavily inflated. Neku pressed a hand to the glass as he leaned in to read the tags in front of the books.

It was at that moment he felt someone bump into him from behind.

“Sorry,” the man huffed.

“Yeah, it’s-“ Neku had turned to speak with him and froze. “What are you doing here?”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “You. Oh, wonderful.”

“Hey, I’m not looking for you this time,” Neku snorted and continued looking at the books.

The former Composer didn’t move. He stood next to Neku and stared into the glass case as well. “Your name is Neku Sakuraba, right?”

“Wow, I must be forgettable. You tried to shoot me a week or so ago,” he grumbled. “Seriously though, what are you here for?”

“I’m here for one of those.” the man pointed to the books in the case. “A co-worker of mine enjoys collecting these silly human artifacts.”

Neku didn’t say anything. He didn’t shrug or nod. It felt uncomfortable to be next to the guy who might have Joshua’s heart stuffed in a pocket.

“I suppose I should give you my name since I have yours.” The man turned, held out his hand, but didn’t at all look friendly. “Minoru Hiwase.”

“Nice to meet you, I guess,” Neku took his hand and shook it. It was as cold as ice. “So, uh, which one are you looking to get?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” he said. “There are several books she wants.”

“She, eh?” Neku felt a little bit more comfortable knowing the guy had at least one friend. “I’m not too knowledgeable about these things. It’s a spur of the moment gift.”

Minoru glanced down at the book Neku was holding under his right arm. He tilted his head to read the title and laughed. “Does he still read those?”

“He was reading one the other day,” Neku explained, sliding the book out from under his arm. “I mean, he has a huge library so anything should be good, right?”

“You want it to be special,” Minoru almost teased. His voice seemed unsure of how to vocalize emotion. “Joshua is a strange one. I would probably choose…this one.”

Neku looked at the book. It was worn and faded. The cover was made of canvas and the words were hard to make out. Next to the book was a price tag of 30000 yen. Neku had enough money-and some-in the bank to purchase it but he still wasn’t sure.

“What is it, exactly?”

Minoru grinned. “It’s an old journal. I know your little Composer enjoys peeking into other people’s lives. He would enjoy it, I think.”

“If you say so,” Neku happened to glance at his watch. It was almost three. “Crap, hey, thank-“

He looked around. The man had vanished. In the front of the store Neku could hear the bell on the door chime. At least this time the guy didn’t try to kill him.

Looking back at the books he’d made the decision to trust Minoru. He called the clerk over and despite Neku being stared at as if he didn’t have the money for the book, the clerk compiled and was surprised when Neku’s card wasn’t declined.

Neku took the bag with the two books in it and smiled to the clerk as he left the store. He sat outside on a bench to wait for Joshua. There wasn’t any reason to meet at a specific place since Joshua knew exactly where Neku was at any given time.

On time with the beep of three o’clock on his watch Neku could see Joshua appear from a crowd of people. Joshua’s phone was out and he was concentrating on the screen. When he came close to Neku he seemed to cheer up instantly.

“You should really try this,” Joshua said, lighting on the bench next to Neku. “It’s fun.”

Neku leaned over the phone. “Pokemon Go. Really?”

“Yes,” Joshua flicked his finger across the screen to try and catch a Pikachu, “it’s somewhat addictive. Perhaps I should add it to the game.”

“I think that’d be more of a distraction,” Neku said. He hugged the bag closer to his side.

The crinkling of plastic made Joshua peek around Neku. “Oh, did you buy me something nice, Neku?”

“Yeah, actually.”

Joshua’s expression went from surprised to a strange sort of happiness. “You did?”

“I don’t know if you’ll like it or not but-“ Neku held the bag out. “Happy Thursday.”

The Composer giggled and took the bag. He pulled out the fiction book and grinned. “You’ve been paying attention, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I know you don’t have that one. I wasn’t sure on the others.”

Setting the book aside, Joshua pulled the other book from the bag. He was smiling as he balled up the sack and stuffed it between to keep from littering. The cover was still too worn to see even in the sunshine.

“Hm,” Joshua flipped it over, “what is this?”

“A journal or something?” Neku scooted closer to Joshua. “I couldn’t read it.”

“Well, let’s see,” he opened the front cover and flipped the page.

The book fell to the ground with a sharp smack.

Neku instantly leaned down to pick it up. “What’s wrong? Hey.”

He could see the color drained from Joshua’s already pale face. The Composer was unnerved as he gave the book a look of disgust.

“Who told you to buy this?”

Neku dusted the cover off and held it in his lap lest Joshua launch it at a nearby trashcan. “Minoru.”

The name made Joshua flinch a bit. He quickly pulled his emotions together and a look of annoyance danced across his features. “I thought I told you to stop looking for him.”

“I didn’t,” Neku defended, “he found me. He was looking for a book, too, but he didn’t really find anything.”

“And he told you to buy this?” Joshua pointed to the book as if it were a snake. “Did he tell you what it was?”

“He said it was a journal and that you liked looking into people’s lives. Why? What is it?” Neku started to open the cover and Joshua snatched it away.

“It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing,” Neku muttered. “Sorry I ruined the surprise.”

Joshua stared at the book. “No, Neku. It wasn’t your fault. I’m happy you thought of me but the next time you see Minoru Hiwase you shouldn’t interact with him.”

“Not that I care to but why? Is he dangerous?”

“More than you could imagine,” Joshua said, and rose from the bench. He tucked both books under his left arm and tossed the plastic sack in the trash. “C’mon. It’s time to go home.”

Neku felt the air shift. He knew he was back in the UG as easily as he knew how to breathe. It was calmer in the UG even with a game going on around them. They were vibrating at a different frequency, though, so to any of the players they weren’t visible. Neku followed behind Joshua, a little upset that he’d done something he shouldn’t have without realizing it. Maybe he should have Joshua make a list of all the things he should do so that everything else was off limits.

“I’m not upset,” Joshua said. “I can feel you brooding. I’m just worried for you and Shibuya.”

“Yeah, I know. But I don’t understand,” he closed the distance between them, “why he’s so dangerous?”

“Minoru Hiwase was a Composer for far longer than I. If he hadn’t been ready to relent I might not have overtaken him. I was sure to win the battle but it would have come down to a single second of decision. If I had made one wrong move I would have been Erased.”

Neku nodded. “And the journal, is it his or something?”

“Yes,” Joshua said without pause. “I suppose he wanted to send a message to me. He has you in his radar and I’m entirely sure it isn’t a good thing. The Higher Ups rarely deal with anyone lower than Composer unless they have a plan for them.”

“You don’t think they’ll erase me, do you?” Neku shivered. He wasn’t sure if it was the chill in the air from the sun hiding behind the buildings or the sense that Joshua was upset. “Hey, it’s not gonna happen.”

“I know.” Joshua turned to Neku. His eyes were glowing. “I won’t allow anyone to take you from me.”

Neku knew he should be frightened at the power behind Joshua’s gaze but he didn’t. He felt light.

He felt loved.

“Thanks,” he whispered.

Joshua smiled a cunning smile. “I will simply have to keep you company at all times, Neku, dear. In the bathroom and the shower, especially.”

“There’s the Josh I know.” Neku smiled back. “So, what’s on the agenda for tonight?”

“I was thinking Chinese. I wasn’t much for eating until I met you.”

“I guess that’s a good thing. You’re too skinny, Josh.”

They reached the apartment complex. They could have just transported but Neku had noticed a change in Joshua’s usual routine. Since they’d been living together-hooboy did that sound strange-Joshua had been eating at regular intervals and going to bed like a normal person.

Maybe, just maybe, Neku was changing Joshua as much as Joshua had changed him.

“Perhaps after dinner I could run us a bath.”

Yeah. Maybe he hadn’t changed after all.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Prompt #14 – The world ends with zombies.**

It was quiet.

The bathroom was filled with warm steam and the bath felt soft against Joshua’s skin. A soft smell of jasmine wafted up from the water and Joshua relaxed further into the water. His head went under and he kept his eyes closed as he let the warm water soothe his face.

Joshua didn’t need to breathe. It felt weird when there wasn’t any pain in his chest. He remembered the first time he tried to hold his breath under the water after his ascension to Composer, and it had frightened him enough to call Sanae to ask what was wrong.

A few bubbles slipped from between his lips and tickled his nose. He could hear his phone humming on the side of the tub and reluctantly he surfaced. It wasn’t a number he recognized. He assumed it would stop vibrating eventually as he ducked back under the water.

It didn’t.

Surfacing again, he grabbed a towel to wipe his face and hands. The phone continued to hum.

Joshua snapped it up. “This had better be important.”

“Of course it is,” the voice on the other side said with a cruelly playful tone.

The phone almost slipped from between his fingers. “Minoru.”

“You remember my voice. I’m pleased,” he said, a bit more amused. “I hope you received your present?”

“What do you want?” Joshua felt cold despite the warm water sloshing around. “I’m busy.”

Minoru made a Noise of mock upset. “Aw, don’t you have enough time for your old friend?”

“You are not my friend. You have never been my friend.” Joshua sat up and the water splashed around his waist. “You need to leave my Conductor alone. If you continue-“

The former Composer’s voice became deep. “Or what? You haven’t any power over me. I have your heart, remember? There is so much more than love I can take from you.”

“Please,” he couldn’t believe he had whimpered, “Minoru…”

“I was curious on how you were. It’s unfortunate you’re still a coward. What would your old partner think of you these days?”

Joshua’s breath hitched. “Leave her out of this.”

Minoru laughed. “Does Neku know what you did? I’m sure he would love to learn more of the friend he’s made in you, Joshua. A coward. A failure. A weak, useless boy who thinks himself a Composer.”

“Leave Neku alone and leave me alone,” Joshua growled. “I can always call your superiors and let them know what you’ve been up to.”

“Oh? But would they believe you? After all,” Minoru chuckled under his breath, “you are in quite a bit of trouble. If they think you’ve become unhinged…”

Joshua swallowed hard. “Please. Stop.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

The call dropped with a triple beep. Joshua’s hand was shaking as he set it back down on the edge of the tub. He pulled up from the water, the droplets trying to hang on as they spilled to the swirling water. The room was chilled and wrapping a towel around his waist did little to warm him.

In the other room Joshua could hear Neku attempting to sing. He couldn’t place the song through the wall, but it was growing closer to the door.

“Oi, Josh,” Neku called through the wood, “do you want to play some chess tonight?”

Joshua placed his hand on the wood. He wanted to hold Neku. He wanted to protect him from the stupid decisions Joshua had made in the past. All of the secrets threatened to be laid bare. And for what?

What did Minoru want?

“Josh?”

“I’m fine, Neku. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

He could feel Neku move away from the door.

It only took a moment to dress and dry his hair-which was refusing to lay down. He picked up his phone and slid it into one of the drawers of the vanity.

Opening the door he could hear Neku’s voice as he complained about not remembering what piece went where and if Joshua was going to take black or white this time. Joshua smiled.

“Are you talking to yourself again?”

Neku threw him a grin. “Yeah. I think your crazy is rubbing off on me.”

“Oh, Neku, you wound me,” he teased, and took a seat on the sofa next to Neku. “We should really get your apartment decorated.”

“Why?” Neku was still trying to place pieces. “Are you getting tired of sharing space with me?”

“I couldn’t,” he replied, and finally slapped Neku’s hands away. “No, those go on these squares and that one is a bishop, not a king.”

“He’s got a better hat.”

“It isn’t a hat,” Joshua corrected. “Perhaps we should play something a little more on your level.”

Neku shot him a dirty look. “Like what?”

“Checkers.”

“Jerk.”

Joshua giggled under his breath. He felt something stick him from the couch cushion and he reached back to find a pin. When he turned it over he frowned.

“I thought we destroyed all of the o-pins?”

Neku turned. “I thought you did. Huh. I wonder where that came from?”

Joshua had a sudden shiver of fear run up his spine. He crushed the pin with his power and tossed it at the kitchen trashcan. “I’m not sure. I would really hate for Shibuya to become a den of zombies.”

“The world ends with zombies, coming soon to a theatre near you,” Neku said, looking rather pleased with himself for saying it.

“It would be a terrible movie.” Joshua glanced outside at the balcony. The night had come with bright shimmers of light and a hazy glow. “Neku, were you still wanting to understand me?”

Neku looked up from the chess board. He had decided to move first by sliding a pawn across two spaces. “Well, yeah, if you want me to. I don’t want to press.”

“I have secrets I wouldn’t want to burden you with. I want you to make me a promise, Neku.”

“Yeah, sure. Anything.”

Joshua took Neku’s hands in his. They were darker than his own. “Promise me. If the Higher Ups or Minoru Hiwase come to you, please do not go with them. Do not listen to anything they say.”

“You look scared,” Neku reached up to touch Joshua’s face with the back of his hand, “and you’re freezing. Are you sure Composers can’t get sick?”

“Yes. Now please. Promise me.”

“I promise. But I don’t understand-“

“You don’t need to. Not right yet.”

Neku shrugged. “Well, it’s your turn.”

“Right,” Joshua whispered.

He couldn’t help but think otherwise.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Aside #3 – All Good Things (between #14-15)**

 

The Wild Cat Café wasn’t ever busy when Neku visited. He was no longer under house arrest and Joshua had gratefully given him free range of power. Neku was even learning how to summon Noise. But currently he was enjoying a cup of coffee while sketching.

Hanekoma was also working on a project in the back room. It had something to do with a new mural or a collection of covers, Neku wasn’t sure which. He could see the edge of the canvas as the barista worked with splashes of color and odd angles.

“Hey,” Neku wasn’t sure how to broach the subject of Joshua, “how long have you been a Producer?”

There was a pause and a curl of smoke as Hanekoma came to the bar. “Why?”

Neku continued sketching. He didn’t want to make eye contact. “I was just curious if you came on board with Joshua or not.”

“I knew tha kid when he was alive,” Hanekoma said. “You knew that.”

“Oh, right.” Damn. He had. “So, before then?”

The barista leaned on the counter with his elbows. A cigarette bounced between his lips. “Yeah.”

“So,” Neku continued to sketch furiously, “you knew the other guy.”

“If yer talkin’ about Minoru, yeah. I was his Producer, too.”

Neku nodded and began lining the different shapes on the paper before him. He inhaled the scent of stale cigarette smoke but it didn’t bother him. It calmed him a bit, and he managed to look up at Hanekoma.

Hanekoma stared back at him, expression flat. “Why?”

“He’s been bothering me lately.” Neku folded the cover of his sketchbook shut. “I mean, not like that but yeah, that way, too. I’m worried about Josh. He’s been acting weird.”

“Isn’t that normal for him?” Hanekoma laughed and when Neku didn’t follow he fell sober again. “Y’know, I noticed it.”

Neku rested his head on his folded arms. “I don’t know what to do. He said to leave him alone but Minoru popped up at the bookstore the other day. It’s like, he’s trying to drive a wedge between us.”

“I wouldn’t put it past ‘im.” Hanekoma returned to the back room to continue working, but his voice carried into the front of the café. “He’s a dangerous guy, kid. I’d avoid ‘im.”

“Yeah, Josh said so.” Neku reached out for the cup of coffee he’d let go cold. His hands encircled the mug and he attempted to use his power to warm the liquid.

It shot into the air and landed behind the counter. Luckily it missed Neku’s sketchbook.

“Shit,” Neku cursed. He grabbed a towel from the counter and began wiping up what he could.

Eventually, Neku hoped, he’d have enough control of his powers to do what Minamimoto did the other day when those stupid kids were mocking him. Maybe if Neku set a fire under their collective asses they’d take him more seriously.

“Hey, kid,” Hanekoma’s voice was strained, “I shouldn’t say it but, y’might need ta press Boss for answers.”

“I want to live until tomorrow at least,” he shot back and tossed the wet towel into the sink. “But thanks for the opinion. Oh, and the coffee.”

Neku grabbed his sketchbook and hurried outside to avoid paying for the overpriced sludge. There was another chill in the air and he pulled his coat tighter around his shoulders. The people were going about their day as if nothing else was going on, and the players of the current game were rushing past Noise to make it to their next goal.

Often, Neku watched as the players turned on each other and got themselves erased. It irritated him to no end to know how much easier it would’ve been to trust each other and it sickened him to know he was once as petty as them.

He stopped at Sunshine to get a drink to rinse the taste of coffee from his mouth. The girl behind the counter was far too happy to see him and he let her keep the change of a 2000 yen note. Her energy bubbled up and dispelled the negative energy two customers away.

Being a Conductor was sort of nice.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_“So you’ve found me, Player.”_

_Joshua hadn’t expected to be right about the sewer. He had heard talk. He was fed information from a trustworthy source and he followed it to the Composer._

_“I found you. Now I’m challenging you.”_

_The Composer laughed bitterly. He was a charcoal grey, wispy figure with black eyes. “Then come at me, little one. But before that-“_

_“Hey,” Joshua’s partner, a girl whose name he still had a hard time remembering, stepped forward and shouted at the Composer, “you think we’re not serious?”_

_Joshua wanted to yank her back behind him. He didn’t._

_Even as the Composer sat on his throne and leaned his head on one hand. “You don’t frighten me much.”_

_“We should,” the girl said. “C’mon, Yoshiya!”_

_Joshua locked eyes with the Composer. The Composer narrowed his gaze and grinned._

_“You there,” he pointed at Joshua, “Yoshiya Kiryu, Player number forty-four, are you interested in knowing the outcome of what you are about to do?”_

_“I don’t care,” Joshua retorted. “Are you going to relent? Or do we have to fight you?”_

_The Composer shrugged. “I suppose I’ll let you have the crown, so to speak. I have grown weary of Shibuya and those who live within her walls. Which one of you will be Composer?”_

_“Wait,” the girl glanced at Joshua before looking back at the Composer, “you mean we have to choose?”_

_“There is only one Composer,” the man said. “Your partner knew this coming in.”_

_She shot Joshua a wounded look. “Yoshiya…”_

_The Composer crossed his legs and sat more comfortably in his throne. “Your final mission. I want one to erase the other. If you do, you become Composer. Otherwise I will erase you both.”_

_Joshua went rigid. He looked at his partner-what WAS her name?-and took a fighting stance. “I’m sorry. I’ve fought too hard for this.”_

_“No!” She shrieked and pulled out her pins. “I’m not going to let you erase me!”_

_“You don’t have a choice,” he said, his voice wavering. He could feel the Composer’s gaze on him. “I’m sorry but I have to do this.”_

_His partner was strong. She had been a deciding factor in many of the battles they had fought. Joshua played off of her power as she did his. They were evenly match to a degree. Joshua was more calculating and tended to hesitate or avoid battles altogether. His partner dove in with no finesse and an energy rivaling any of the other players who’d already been erased._

_Joshua closed his eyes. He knew he hadn’t a chance. His hand shot out, he focused his energy, and the beams of psychic light he had been so proud of flew from his palm._

_But something was wrong. It was far more power than he had ever used previously._

_“Atsume, look out!”_

_It was useless. She had ran right into the center of his attack. There was a shrill cry and a million sparkles of light flicked through the air where she once stood. Joshua rushed over but all that was left was a few crushed pins and scraps of fabric._

_“No, I didn’t want this!”_

_The Composer laughed heartily. “Didn’t you? Oh, by the way, I’ll be keeping your entrance fee. You did lose the game on a technicality.”_

_Joshua flew into a rage. He ran toward the Composer with the intent of punching him square in the face but the Composer lifted one finger and Joshua flew back into a wall._

_He groaned in pain. “N-no. You…you lied.”_

_“I didn’t lie. You didn’t trust your partner,” he said, kneeling down next to Joshua. “Now. Are you prepared for the most painful experience you’ve yet had?”_

_Joshua stared into empty pools of black. He felt his soul ripping apart the moment the power flowed into his broken body._

_\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

The pain returned. Joshua woke from the dream and shuttered in agony. It was luck that Neku had decided to spend the night with Beat and Rhyme. If he had been at home…

As if on cue, Joshua’s phone rang. It was Neku.

“Hey, are you okay? I just had this feeling something was up.”

“Y-yeah,” he managed to choke out. “I’m alright.”

He could hear music and laughter in the background. Neku called back to his friends that he needed a few minutes and they called back in agreement.

The noise subsided and Neku’s voice was softer. “I know you’re lying.”

“You do not,” Joshua said with a sigh. “I had a nightmare. All is well.”

“Josh, do you want me to come over? I don’t have to stay the night.”

A light flush spread across his face at the kindness in Neku’s voice. Joshua shook his head as if Neku could see it or hear the headache banging around behind Joshua’s eyes. “No. Stay. I want you to have fun.”

“Thanks! I’ll be back in the morning, okay?”

Neku sounded happy. Joshua smiled for him as he hung up the phone and set it on his bedside table.

The sheets were chilled with sweat and what Joshua refused to believe were tears on his pillow. He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed a hand through his hair. Across the room he looked at the Noise dog sitting on a lounge chair bathing her front paw.

“I’m sorry, Atsume. I’m so sorry.”

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Prompt #15 – Reaper Creeper**

 

It was extremely early in the morning when Neku left Beat’s house. They had spent the night wide awake, playing Games, or talking about the future. Rhyme had fallen asleep around two, but Beat was still up. Neku left him studying math or science.

The city was a little calmer in the morning, but not by much. There was a lot of clubs and restaurants to cater to the busy Shibuyan nightlife. Neku was never one for partying in public, but he thought about taking Joshua out once or twice. He wasn’t sure how Joshua would react.

Across the street, Neku saw Minamimoto cursing in binary while fighting with one of his sculptures. It was much smaller than the ones before, and seemed to be made of wire and bits of discarded metal. There was some paper here and there, and some paint splattered around.

Neku was too curious not to investigate. He crossed the street and stood directly behind Minamimoto.

“So what’s this?” He took a sip of his cinnamon hot chocolate. He’d gotten it from Beat’s mom.

Minamimoto shot out a series of ones and zeros, ending with a hectopascal.

“Really,” Neku said, feigning amusement. He bent down to look at the base and found a familiar piece of paper wedged between two joints. “Reaper Creeper. I haven’t seen that in a while.”

“Oi, little digit, hold this,” Minamimoto held out a weird shape of wire.

Neku shrugged and took hold of it while the math genius wove another piece around and through it. The piece still didn’t look like anything in particular but Minamimoto was happy with it.

“Thanks,” he said, continuing to work on it.

“Yeah, sure.” Neku frowned at the lack of anger and vitrol. “You’re being nice.”

“Keh,” Minamimoto started to adjust the piece in with the other piles of weirdness, “I’ve calculated multiple equations and rounded up and down. No matter the number I can’t divide by you.”

“What.” Neku took another sip of hot chocolate. “You know normal people use words, right?”

Minamimoto hammered a piece of metal around a post. “Normal.”

“I guess we’re not normal,” Neku said. He took in the piece as a whole and though it was strange and twisting in ways that looked unstable, he could see a charm in it. There was music in the piece and it flowed from the once Game master. Neku set his cup down on the sidewalk. “Y’know, I kinda like it. Maybe we could collaborate in the future.”

He might as well have been telling Minamimoto he was going to be Erased next Thursday. The man looked at Neku as if he’d grown two heads.

“I mean, it’s not bad. I can see what you’ve-“

Minamimoto, the man who tried to kill Neku and Joshua on multiple occasions, slapped Neku on the back and rambled off a math equation that was sure to make some sort of sense. He laughed-not in the maddened way when he was possessed with being Composer-but in a deep, pleased way.

It bubbled off of him and infected Neku, who had begun to laugh as well.

“Y’ain’t square, little digit.”

Neku could at least understand that.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Prompt #16 – The freaking moon!**

 

“So you’re working with Minamimoto, I see.”

Neku looked up from his sketchbook. He was sitting at the desk while Joshua sat on the sofa with one leg over the arm. In his arms was a guitar, which he played lazily.

“Yeah,” Neku said, “I thought I might try to get to know the guys who’re working under me. He’s not half bad once you get to know him.”

“A collaboration with a pile of trash,” Joshua mused. He continued to strum the guitar. “I suppose it isn’t the worst thing you could be doing with your time.”

Neku picked the sketchbook up and went to sit on the couch. He leaned into Joshua to show him the half-formed pile of metal and graffiti they were planning. “There’s gonna be a light on the inside. Minamimoto wants to call it ‘the freaking moon’.”

“Hm, who’s idea was it to include a light?”

“Mine,” he replied, pointing the pencil to a few side doodles. “I thought maybe we could integrate these into the Game. Y’know, like Hachiko was possessed by Noise. I’m not sure exactly what to do with it, but I’m sure we’ll come up with something cool.”

Joshua began playing a random song. “I’m sure you’ll do fine, Neku.”

“Thanks,” Neku relaxed back against the opposite arm of the couch.

He didn’t recognize the song Joshua was playing. It could have been an original song or something too old to know what it was. Neku listened for a bit and was about to say something about Joshua’s skill on the guitar, but then Joshua began singing. His voice was soft at first, but it grew. Again, Neku didn’t recognize the song, and he didn’t know the language either. But it was beautiful. He found himself enraptured by it.

Neku closed his eyes. He could feel the energy in the song. It surrounded him in warmth.

The music ended far too soon.

He opened his eyes. Joshua was watching him.

“Are you alright?” He said, still cradling the guitar. “My music can affect people in odd ways.”

“What’dya mean? I was just listening. It’s good. Did you write it?”

Joshua was still staring at him oddly. “You don’t feel it?”

“Feel what?” Neku tilted his head. “The music? Yeah, it’s nice.”

Joshua turned away. He sat the guitar down and reached into his back pocket. Pulling out a small compact mirror he flicked it open and held it out in front of Neku.

Neku frowned. “Why do you have a mirror-“

The question died in his throat.

“What. The. Hell.”

Behind Neku was a pair of long, bluish-black reaper wings. They flinched and Neku felt a pull on his back.

“Is this…normal?” He asked, reaching back to touch the edge of one. It thrummed with power and Neku shivered at the sensation.

“Yes, Neku. Though I didn’t think you would have sprouted them on your own.” Joshua shifted on the couch to face Neku. He reached over Neku’s shoulder to touch the right wing. “I didn’t think they would be so large.”

Neku looked over his shoulder. “How do I make them go away?”

“Just concentrate,” Joshua said. “Focus your energy on the wings and pull them back into yourself.”

“Uh, I’m not-“

“Shh,” he soothed, placing a hand on Neku’s shoulder. “Close your eyes and reach out.”

Neku did as he said and felt a melody echoing from inside of him. He reached out and felt it pulse at the touch of his mind. There was music in the wings reminiscent of Joshua’s song. For a moment, Neku listened to it, not wanting to let it go.

“C’mon, Neku,” Joshua teased, “you can’t walk around with your wings out.”

The wings twitched at Joshua’s voice as if they were happy. Neku smiled and pulled on the song, absorbing it into his soul. He could feel the wings pop as they slid back in and he opened his eyes to find Joshua inches from his face.

“Whoa, personal space, Josh.”

Joshua giggled. He placed his hands on Neku’s face and tilted his head down to kiss his scalp. “I’m glad you’re taking all of this in stride. I was worried you would panic.”

“Yeah, I guess being around you has mellowed me out,” Neku whispered. He placed his forehead against Joshua’s and closed his eyes. “I can still hear it. Did you write it?”

“You could say that,” Joshua said. He pulled away from Neku and hopped up from the couch. “I hate to cut our little session short, but I have to see Sanae about an upgrade.”

Neku watched as Joshua disappeared in a twinkling of light.

Something felt odd about how quickly he’d left.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Prompt #17 – Come back to life**

 

“Aight, Phones, what’s the lifecycle of a Player?”

Neku closed his eyes, trying to remember exactly what he’d read in that stupid blue book. He was grateful Joshua wasn’t the one giving him the quiz, though. At least Hanekoma wouldn’t treat him like a moron if he got it completely wrong.

“Uh, once a Player enters the Game, if they don’t make a pact, they can be Erased by Noise and turned into energy for the city or food for the Noise. Um,” he paused, trying to picture the diagram in the book. “If the Noise is Erased, the energy is released into the city, which is used by the Composer to better the city.”

Hanekoma waited.

“Oh, right. Um, if the Player is successful in reaching the end of the week, they might be able to come back to life or replay the Game if no lessons were learned. The Composer picks how many people get to come back in a round, and the Conductor works with the Composer to decide who to bring back.” Neku looked up at the ceiling. It had yellow stains from Hanekoma’s second favorite vice. “In some cases, though, if the Player displayed negative intensions, they’re Erased.”

“Good job,” Hanekoma scribbled something down on Neku’s score sheet, “now the lifecycle of Noise.”

Neku hated this. It was just like school and didn’t feel creative at all. “Noise are formed from the energy of Erased Players or the negative emotions of people in the RG. Players can erase the Noise and it will return to the city to be formed back into another Noise. If a Noise erases a Player or another form of Noise it grows stronger until it’s Erased.”

“How’er they summoned?”

“You have to have a pin to attach it to. Composers, however, can form Noise without a pin.”

“Yer gettin’ the hang of this,” he said, marking Neku’s score sheet. “Aight, last question of the day.”

Neku folded his arms onto the bar and leaned forward, ready for anything. “Shoot.”

“Why is there a Noise dog in my café?”

The Noise dog woofed and placed it’s head on Neku’s leg.

Neku gave it a long scratch behind the ears and smiled. “Well, it’s kinda attached to me. I don’t know where it came from or why it likes me so much.”

“Well,” Hanekoma stacked the papers he’d been using and tapped them on the counter to straighten them, “first off it’s a she.”

“God, I’m sorry, girl.”

The Noise dog didn’t seem to mind. She was just enjoying Neku’s attention.

Hanekoma cracked a smile. “I guess she’s welcome.”

“Thanks,” Neku said. “D’you got fresh donuts?”

“Yep. Made ‘em fresh this morning.”

“Sweet, I’ll take two.”

Hanekoma handed him two plain donuts on a fancy napkin. “That it?”

Neku didn’t reply. He took one of the donuts, tore it in half, and held a piece out to the Noise dog. She snapped it up and in two seconds flat it was gone. The Noise dog woofed and wagged her tail.

The barista seemed a bit confused. “Y’know that’s not-“

“She likes it,” he said, giving her the other half.  “But it’s weird ‘cause I didn’t think Noise could eat food. Of course, I didn’t know Noise could be so aware, either.”

“Heh, yeah. Might wanna ask Josh about that, boss.”

Neku took a bite of the second donut. It was a bit stale but he didn’t say anything. They’d worked out an agreement about how much Hanekoma could charge Neku since he seemed to be the barista’s only customer. Neku didn’t want to piss Hanekoma off and get charged twice.

The bell chimed and two bedraggled Players entered the café. They didn’t see Neku or the Noise dog since Neku was keeping their frequency just under their radar. The boy and girl pair sat at the counter and ordered two cups of coffee and several donuts. They ate in a hurry and gulped the coffee down before rushing out.

“Weird,” Neku said, “I haven’t seen Players in your café for a while.”

Hanekoma was cleaning up the mess they’d made of the counter and floor. “Yeah, Josh didn’t want me to, but I reopened for them.”

“Why would Josh not want you to sell to Players?” Neku took a sip of the drink he’d ordered earlier. It’d been too hot but now it was the perfect temperature. He’d asked Hanekoma to try and make hot chocolate like Beat’s mom had, and it was almost the same.

The barista shrugged one shoulder. “He’s got his reasons.”

“Yeah, they’re probably asinine.”

Hanekoma laughed nervously. “Yeah.”

Neku finished his drink and tossed the rest of the donut at the Noise. “I’ll see ya around.”

The Noise dog happily pranced after Neku when he left the café.

Outside, the streets were busy as always. Neku used to hate the crowds but as a Conductor there was so much to feel and hear. At times it was like an orchestra, but at others it sounded like a band warming up. It was interesting at least.

He kept his hands in his pockets as he strolled down the street. The Players and Reapers were about and Neku nodded to a few Reapers as he passed.

They gave him a confused glance when they noticed the Noise dog.

Neku knew it was weird but it felt good to have a companion when Joshua wasn’t around. Also, the dog was practically in love with Joshua to the point that when the Composer was in the same room as the dog, she curled around his legs. He didn’t seem to mind.

A sharp bark made Neku stop. He looked up to see Minoru not too far ahead of them but he wasn’t paying attention to Neku. The previous Composer was locked in an argument with some random angel.

Neku wove through the crowd to hide against one of the building walls. He could hear Minoru chastising the young angel.

“And another thing,” his voice was gruff, “don’t ever think you can come down here and correct me.”

“Y-yes, sir,” the boy was quivering, “I’m sorry, sir. The Higher Ups-“

“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to repair what damage has been done,” he snarled. “Now, go away.”

The tiny angel sparkled out of existence. Minoru huffed and crossed the street to disappear into a crowd.

“He’s up to something,” Neku said to the Noise dog.

She growled in agreement.

“I don’t know if I should tell Josh or not. He’s got enough on his plate.”

The Noise dog whined.

Neku knelt down to scratch her chest. “I guess we should, eh? I’d hate for him to find out and think we were lying or something.”

She woofed and licked Neku across the face with her graffiti tongue.

“Alright, let’s go home,” he said, stretching his energy into the city.

Within a few seconds he was drawn into the melody.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Prompt #18 – Villain**

 

It had been four whole days before Joshua returned to the apartment.

Neku was sleeping in Joshua’s bed again. He was curled around a pillow nodding off when a sparkle of bright light flashed into the room. Immediately Neku sat up and groggily rubbed at his eyes, afraid it might have been a dream or hallucination.

Joshua stood at the window in his Composer form, and the light trickling off of him was dull. He didn’t seem to notice Neku as he stared out into the night.

“Hey-“ Neku reached out his hand. It brushed against Joshua’s light.

The Composer jerked away. He turned toward Neku without a sound and took two steps back.

Neku slid his legs off the bed. “Josh, what’s wrong?”

“I did not expect you to be awake. Go back to sleep, Neku,” his voice was airy but hung heavy in the space between them.

“What the hell, Josh?” Neku stepped toward him and Joshua took one step back. “Why’re you acting like an asshole for? You’ve been gone for almost a week without saying anything. You don’t return calls or texts. Hell, even Hanekoma’s worried for you.”

Joshua spun away from Neku. “You sound like a jilted lover.”

“Damnit!” Neku grabbed Joshua’s arm with the intent on yanking him back around. He wasn’t ready for the sudden force of energy. It knocked him head over heels across the bed and into the floor. Neku groaned at the pain of his head hitting the nightstand.

“Neku,” Joshua exhaled. “I didn’t-“

“Shit, Josh,” Neku managed to sit up, “if you didn’t want me around anymore you could’ve just said so.”

“It’s not-“ Joshua froze. “I cannot drag you into this. Perhaps it is best if you go away for now. Please gather your necessities and find another place to stay.”

Neku rubbed his head as he stood. “I can just go home-“

“No! You need to-“ Joshua struggled with words. “Please, Neku. Stay away from me. Stay away from the Pad and the Throne. You need to go.”

“But I don’t understand!”

Joshua crossed the distance between them. He grabbed Neku by the arms and kissed him full on the mouth. When he pulled away he was shaking. “Neku, please. You trust me, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but,” Neku’s mind reeled from the sudden kiss, “I trust you to do stupid shit. What’er you up to? Let me help you.”

The Composer’s light shivered from white to light grey. “No. Go to Hanekoma. He should be able to find you some lodging for the moment.”

“Joshua,” Neku frowned. He tried to touch Joshua’s face. His hand was centimeters away.

The air shifted sharply and Neku hit the ground with a thud.

He was in the middle of the Scramble Crossing. It was almost midnight, but it was still busy.

Neku immediately tried to transport himself back but was hit with a severe pain. He tried the apartment, the Pad, and the Throne, but all had the same results. It hurt, but Neku kept bashing into the wall as many times as he could before exhausting. He slid to the ground on his knees.

“Damnit, Josh,” he hissed, “I thought you weren’t the villain anymore. I thought you were my friend!”

“Oi, little digit!”

He looked up to see Minamimoto with a bag of groceries.

Wait. Minamimoto with a bag of groceries?

“I didn’t know Reapers needed to-Oh, right,” he said, remembering Kariya and Pinky fighting over bowls of ramen.

“Keh. It’s just some junk,” Minamimoto pulled a can of broth from the bag and juggled it in one hand. “Did your boyfriend kick you out or something?”

“He’s not-” Neku stood up and rubbed at his mouth with the back of his hand. There was a bit of blood on his lip, but it didn’t feel like it was his. “Damnit. No, he’s not my boyfriend but…he…”

Minamimoto laughed, but not in a ha-ha way, it was friendly. He wrapped an arm around Neku’s shoulders and began leading him away from the Scramble. “I like ya, kiddo. C’mon we’re gonna get some grub on.”

“You’re being weird. What, no math terms?”

“I’m more than just math,” he said. “You’re gonna love my place.”

Neku wasn’t so sure, but it beat sleeping in the middle of the street.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Prompt #19 – Mysterious World**

 

Neku hadn’t given much thought to the lives of the Game Masters and Reapers. He’d heard details in passing but they’d never came together as a single idea. Sitting at a table in Minamimoto’s home was strange. He was surrounded by people who had once tried to murder him but who were now passing food around like he was just one of the guys.

Or gals, in the case of Pinky.

“So,” he glanced between Kariya and a random wall Reaper who were sitting on either side of him, “what is this stuff?”

Minamimoto gave a throaty laugh and slapped a spoonful of something onto Neku’s plate. “It’s the best damn meal you’ll ever get.”

“It certainly sticks to your ribs,” said a black hooded Reaper. “Jus’ eat it.”

Neku stared at the food. It had noodles in it. There were some vegetables-carrots, peas, potatoes-and a few slices of what seemed to be pork. A roll landed on his plate and a glass of brightly colored liquid was plopped down next to it.

He felt small. Of course, Higashizawa was sitting across from him so…

“Go on, take a bite,” Kariya nudged him. He seemed perfectly okay with Neku sitting next to him.

Pinky, on the other wing, was glaring at Neku between mouthfuls of food.

“Whatever doesn’t kill me, right?” Neku teased, and he shoved a forkful into his mouth.

The room seemed to go quiet. He chewed.

“T-this…this is really good,” he took another bite, “rly g’d.”

“Aha, see, I told ya,” Minamimoto said as he took a seat between Higashizawa and-oddly-Konishi.

Neku began to feel a little bit more at ease with each bite. The Reapers were laughing and talking about the Game. They teased each other and argued, but to a casual observer, it was like a family united.

A large hand nudged another roll onto Neku’s plate and he looked up at Higashizawa. “Uh, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Y’know, I’m sorry for the whole…Erasure thing…I mean,” he glanced around the raucous table, “I’m sorry to everyone.”

Minamimoto huffed. He swallowed a particularly large bite of food. “Y’ain’t gotta apologize.”

“Well-“ Pinky started to argue but Kariya threw a roll at her mouth.

Neku laughed. “Thanks, guys. Er, and gals.”

The Iron Maiden didn’t seem at all affected by what was going on. She’d also been demoted to Harrier.

After dinner he helped a nameless wall Reaper with the dishes. Neku washed and the other guy dried. It wasn’t quiet, though, as the others had gathered in the living area of the studio apartment. There were cots rolled up against the wall in neat rows. Minamimoto had told Neku early that a lot of the Reapers shared an apartment to save on money. It wasn’t as if they spent too much time in it.

The whole thing was surreal. Neku sort of felt bad for them. He had a huge apartment below Joshua’s equally huge and expensively furnished home. It didn’t seem right for the Reapers to live in such a small space.

Maybe when Joshua stopped being an asshole, Neku could ask him to up their pay.

With the dishes done, Neku stood in the kitchen waiting for what to do next. He didn’t have to wait long. Everyone was rolling out their cots and Neku couldn’t help but notice a few of them sharing one. Maybe all the wall Reapers weren’t guys…

“Oi, digit,” Minamimoto patted a spare cot in the corner, “this is yours for the night.”

“What, he’s staying?” Pinky-Uzuki, Neku remembered-growled. “He’s a Conductor.”

“Yeah, I should go, I mean, I don’t think-“

“Nonsense,” Higashizawa’s voice boomed through the studio apartment. “You have nowhere else to go.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong about that.

“Are you guys sure I’m not putting you out?”

No one argued. When Uzuki tried, Kariya covered her face with a pillow.

“Okay, then, thanks.” Neku crawled into the cot and covered up with a thin blanket with a pattern of stars. He closed his eyes and listened to the others as they quieted down.

There were a few snorers in the group. One of which happened to be Uzuki but Kariya still had a hand over her nose so it wasn’t loud. The noise actually made Neku feel safe. He was surrounded by people who looked to him for orders every week. It was weird, but it was nice.

“Keh,” Minamimoto had taken a cot next to Neku, “you good?”

“This is one mysterious world I’ve ended up in,” he said.

The once math fetishist snorted and soon fell asleep mumbling about prime numbers and six being afraid of seven because seven eight nine.

Neku chuckled into his pillow and soon found sleep coming to claim him as well.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Aside #4 -  (between #19-20)**

 

The city was still beautiful to Joshua. She glowed with creativity and-since Neku-the promise of growth. Her streets were as busy as ever, filled to the brim with opposing sides and clashing ideals. However, they mixed together in a seamless melody. Joshua watched from his perch high up on 104. He could watch his people as they crossed the Scramble. A million songs floated up to him and he kept his eyes closed as he listened to every single one.

It had been exactly one week since he had told Neku to go away.

Joshua opened his eyes to see the Game unfolding. Players were making pacts or they were getting Erased. The Harriers were busy-well-harrying the Players who had made pacts. In the midst of it all stood Neku.

He appeared to be well enough.

“Y’know,” Hanekoma leaned on one of the many odd pieces of equipment on the roof, “you can’t keep him out of it forever. That kid Minoru’s gonna find him.”

“If he lays one finger on my Neku I will see his fingers removed.”

Hanekoma took a drag off a cigarette. The smoke curled around to tickle Joshua’s nose.

“It ain’t healthy for Shibuya or for the Game to have the Composer and Conductor at odds.”

“We are not at odds,” Joshua explained, still gazing at Neku from above. “I told him to go away for his own welfare and I believe he respects it.”

“No, y’didn’t.”

Joshua turned sharply. “What did you say?”

“Y’didn’t tell ‘im ta go away for ‘im,” Hanekoma had the cigarette tucked behind his ears, ‘you did it fer you.”

“How dare you,” Joshua hissed. “May I remind you of your position Sanae. I am Composer. You are just a Producer who answers to the Higher Ups. I have no reason to listen to you.”

Hanekoma smirked. “Yer just like the old Josh.”

“I am nothing like him,” he spat the word out as if venomous. “Now leave before I ban you from my presence as well.”

The barista held his hands up in submission. “Whatever, Boss. Just remember, that kid is countin’ on ya.”

Joshua turned back to the crowd below. He could care less whether Hanekoma left or stayed to annoy him. The Game was well underway and a third of the original Player count had been taken. Neku was smiling at Kariya and waving over his shoulder at Minamimoto.

The once cold and indifferent Neku Sakuraba was now a bright, happy boy running a Game about life and death with an expression of pleasure. Joshua couldn’t have been more proud.

A small, grey feather fluttered around Joshua’s shoulders and down to the streets.

Joshua frowned. Was Shibuya abandoning him for Neku? Joshua’s wings had begun to change, and his aura was growing darker everyday. Would he turn into Minoru?

“Never,” Joshua hissed under his breath. “I will never be you.”

There was the sudden sensation of being watched.

Neku was still in the street, but his attention was on Joshua. His eyes were burning with anger and hurt.

Joshua wanted to go to him. He wanted to fall from the 104 building and take the boy in his arms and apologize as much as humanly possible.

But he couldn’t. It would be a sign of weakness, and Joshua could ill afford it.

Closing his eyes, Joshua faded into the song of Shibuya and drifted through her energy in the hopes Neku wouldn’t come after him.

‘Please, Neku. Just give me a bit more time.’

* * *

 

Neku had wanted to fly up the 104 building and smack that stupid look off of Joshua’s glowing face with the heel of his worn shoe.

“Why are you being such a dick?” Neku asked the air. He knew Joshua wouldn’t respond but the prick would hear the question regardless.

With the Game running smoothly, Neku decided to go shopping for the meal the Reapers and he would be sharing tonight. Higashizawa had promised to teach Neku how to cook all sorts of meals, but Neku settled for meat dumplings. Maybe Neku would even make a dessert or something special.

The Noise dog had wandered off on her own a few days prior, but Neku could feel she was safe wherever she managed to disappear to. Apparently she wasn’t comfortable in a home full of Reapers.

Oddly, though, Neku felt he belonged there more than anywhere else in the world. Their energies bounced off each other in a pleasant way. The city seemed happy with the arrangement and so did Neku. It was fun.

But Neku was worried about his friends. He hadn’t hung out with Shiki in a while and Beat had invited him over for a small family gathering next weekend. If given enough time in the UG, would Neku completely forget them?

Would they forget him?

He shook his head. He wouldn’t let it happen.

After carrying an armload of food to his temporary living space, Neku had quite a bit of time left before the others would be home. Higashizawa was the GM in the current game, which would make him one of the earliest to arrive, but it still wouldn’t be before six.

In the middle of the day there were really only two places Neku wanted to be. One was an internet café with fashionable waitresses and cats. The other was the bookstore.

Neku knew the only reason he went to the bookstore was in the vain hope of running into Joshua.

He chose the café if only because cats made him happy. They were always so eager to be loved on and held when he went there. The food wasn’t half bad and the internet connection was stable. He would spend hours playing online or answering email from neighboring Conductors and the Higher Ups. They all seemed nice enough but Joshua had told Neku to be careful who he befriended.

Currently his only friend online was the Conductor in Paris. A small, mousy girl who used more emoticons than words in her emails. They’d been messaging each other back and forth since they were about the same age. Apparently her office was deep within the catacombs. She told him it was ‘ghost-face’ and ‘:O’.

Neku wrote back about how his office was near a sewer. He had wanted to send her the poop emoji, but it probably wasn’t very dig-

Oh. She sent it back to him. Sweet.

A waitress in pink and white literally hopped up to him and went, “Nya. You need anything, prrwa?”

“Uh, no thanks.” Neku felt a little awkward around catgirls.

The cat in his lap snuggled deeper into his legs and Neku patted him. “It’s you and me, buddy.”

Another email popped up on his screen. He clicked on it, expecting it to be Charmain the mousy Conductor, but it didn’t have a single emoticon in the body of the text.

‘Dearest Neku,’ the email read, ‘we should talk about Joshua. I know you trust me very little but if you reach out to me there may be a reward for your services. I hope you have the HEART to come.’

Neku flinched. “Bastard.”

The cat mewled in his lap. Neku stroked it’s head to calm it back down.

He put his fingers on the keyboard with the intent of writing back ‘fuck you, Minoru’, but he hesitated.

Maybe Minoru knew why Joshua was upset?

Neku tossed the thought back and forth. It was stupid…but it might be the only clue Neku had to get into Joshua’s head and solve whatever was puzzling him.

‘Don’t call me dearest again. I’ll meet you at the Miyashita Underpass. Alone.’

He clicked send and a few seconds later a reply popped up.

‘Agreed. Two o’clock. Bring refreshments.’

“Asshole,” Neku grumbled. He gently put the cat down and logged off the computer.

It was one-thirty now. If he hurried he could run by Mexican Dog on his way over.

After all, Neku thought, if Minoru tried anything funny, he could always shove a spicy hot dog down the ex-Composer’s throat.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Aside #5 -  (between #19 - 20)**

 

Miyashita Underpass was exceptionally loud in the middle of the day. Neku had his ear buds in as he walked to meet Minoru, and it was getting harder to hear the music.

In one hand, Neku carried his smart phone, hoping Joshua might have texted him or sent an email but no. Neku’s email box had nothing from Joshua. In his other hand, Neku had a bag of refreshments. He’d decided to skip hot dogs and went to the convenience store. He’d picked up a couple pork buns and two bottles of soda. It didn’t matter what Minoru wanted. Neku couldn’t care less.

Ahead of Neku he could see the shadow of Minoru leaning against one of the pillars. He was frowning down at his own phone, and he didn’t even look up as he said, “you’re late.”

“You’re an asshole,” Neku shot back. He pocketed his phone, removed his ear buds, and reached into the bag to throw a bun at Minoru’s head.

The angel caught it in one hand and gave it a look of distain. “Pork? Are you trying to be funny?”

“What? Can’t angels eat pork?” Neku sat on the ground and rummaged around in the bag. “If you’re a vegetarian you should’ve told me.”

“It isn’t kosher,” Minoru explained, and tucked the bun in his shirt pocket.

“Fine. I don’t care. What did you want to see me about?”

Minoru looked down at him as if he were a bug. “Straight to the point. I like that about you, Sakuraba-san.” He put his cell phone away. “I have a proposal you might be most interested in.”

“What?” Neku fiddled around with the wrapper on his pork bun. It was being difficult. “Are you going to go away and leave us alone?”

A soft chuckle. “No. It’s even better. I want to offer you Joshua’s heart.”

The pork bun was an unfortunate victim of Neku’s surprise. It rolled into the street and smashed under a passing car’s tires. Neku blinked twice in confusion. “Why?”

“Because I need something from you,” he said slyly. “I want you to enter me into your next Game.”

Neku fought the urge to shout ‘hell no’ at the ex-Composer. Instead he narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest in a vain attempt to look annoyed. “Why on earth would I do that and what’s in it for you?”

Minoru smiled infuriatingly. He knelt down next to Neku. “Oh, come on. You’ll get Joshua’s heart and I’ll get another chance to possibly reincarnate. Since my body is long decayed, it would be the only way for me to come back to life. Also, you could Erase me at any time if I fail. It’s a win-win for you.”

Something was seriously wrong. Neku couldn’t wrap his mind around the logic in Minoru’s offer. He half expected Joshua to pop into the Underpass to kidnap him from Minoru’s strange request.

“He won’t know,” Minoru said, apparently sensing Neku’s fear. “I have a wall up. Even the Composer is weak against the magic of a Higher Up.”

“So if you go into the Game you could-“

“I won’t attack him directly.”

Neku chewed the inside of his mouth. He wasn’t sure what to do. In the back of his mind he imagined Hanekoma screaming at him to get away from Minoru and just run. But Joshua’s heart was on the line.

“If you don’t want it,” Minoru opened his palm in front of Neku’s face, “I can always absorb it.”

In the angel’s hand was a pink light. It glittered and shone like a distant star.

Neku reached for it, but hesitated. “I don’t feel right about this.”

“Oh? Then I’ll go ahead and get rid of it.”

Minoru’s mouth opened wide and he started to dump the pink sparkle in his mouth like a sugared treat.

There wasn’t any time to think. Neku reacted and snatched it away.

“See? I knew you cared. Now,” Minoru offered Neku his gun, “put me into your next Game.”

Neku barely heard him. The light in his hands was warm. He held it up to his eyes to have a closer look and Neku could have sworn it was jingling like a bell.

The gun hung loosely in Minoru’s fingers.

Neku gently folded a towel around the light. It was one of those small hand towels Joshua had given him to make Neku stop using paper towels because of litter. The tiny stars on the towel were oddly fitting for the heart of Joshua.

“Now,” Minoru shoved the gun into Neku’s hands, “shoot me.”

It was all happening too fast. Neku held the gun up to Minoru’s temple.

“Wait one moment. Before I forget, here.” Minoru dropped a pin in Neku’s pocket. “Consider it a token of my friendship with you.”

“I don’t need a stupid pin,” Neku said. He cocked the gun and placed his finger on the trigger.

This was wrong. It was wrong and stupid and Joshua would be so damn mad at him.

But the heart was gently pulsing in Neku’s free hand.

“Minoru, I really hope this hurts like hell.”

The angel grinned. “You have no idea.”

Neku fired the gun. Minoru collapsed to the ground. His energy floated away into the song of Shibuya to be held for the next week’s Game.

The gun tumbled from Neku’s hand. He felt sick. Distantly, he could hear footsteps. They were coming toward him at an alarming speed.

“Kid, what’ve ya done?”

He looked up into the worried gaze of Hanekoma. All Neku could do is hold the heart out to him.

“Joshua is going to kill me, isn’t he?”

Hanekoma reached out to take the heart. His expression was grim. “What’d he want?”

“He wanted to be a Player. I don’t know why but that’s all he wanted.”

With a disappointed glare, Hanekoma handed the heart back to Neku. “No, Neku. I’m pretty sure that ain’t all he wanted.”

Neku frowned. Minoru was up to something, but what?

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Aside #6 -  (between #19 - 20)**

 

The two of them were watching Joshua sleep.

Neku almost felt creepy about it but he remembered all the times Joshua did the same to him. Hanekoma, however, was a different matter. Neku wondered if the barista had watched over Joshua when he was alive. From the look on Hanekoma’s face it was a distinct possibility.

“Why isn’t he waking up?” Neku whispered to Hanekoma. He still held Joshua’s heart in his hands.

Boy, did that feel weird.

Hanekoma raised his hand. “Higher Up stuff.”

“Ah,” Neku said. He watched as Joshua’s chest rose and fell. His skin was ashen and his face was dotted with perspiration. Joshua’s eyes were somewhat sunken in and the dark rings made him seem older. Neku wanted so much to touch him. To wake him up and apologize and beg Joshua to tell him what to do to fix everything.

Joshua groaned in his sleep.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Neku looked at the heart. “Didn’t Josh say something about lost entrance fees being non-refundable? I’m pretty sure he mentioned it.”

“I’d assume this is an outlier,” Hanekoma mused. He scratched at his chin. “W’dya like me to do tha honors?”

Neku shook his head. “I did this.”

“Yep.”

“Thanks,” Neku grumbled.

He held the heart above Joshua. It shone brilliantly and pulsed along with Joshua’s steady breathing. Neku closed his eyes as he parted his hands and the warmth flowed from between his fingers. He could hear Joshua whimpering. It broke Neku’s heart to know he’d done it.

But it was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?

Neku opened his eyes. He gazed down at Joshua.

The Composer’s eyes fluttered. He slowly woke from sleep, shivering and breathing heavily. At first he didn’t notice Neku and Hanekoma standing above him.

No, the first thing he did was panic.

Neku watched as Joshua scrambled off the bed. He kept slapping at his chest like it was on fire. His eyes were wide and tearing, and his mouth did that odd fish thing it did when Neku caught him off guard.

“What…what…”

He finally looked up. He stared at Neku, at Hanekoma, at Neku, and finally at Hanekoma.

“Josh, ah, don’t get upset-“ the barista tried to reason. It failed.

“What in Shibuya have you done, Neku?” Joshua rubbed at his chest. “What have you done?”

Neku avoided Joshua’s gaze. “I, uh, I made a deal with Minoru?”

The Composer glared at him. “I told you-“

“Look, I know what you told me, alright? I screwed up. I screwed up royally but you know what, Josh? I don’t fucking care, okay? It’s not like you’ve been the star decision maker in this relationship!”

Hanekoma took five steps back.

Neku froze. Oh, shit. What’ve I done.

A chill set in the air. Joshua’s face was deadpan but his eyes were burning in anger. He crossed the distance between them, even when Neku tripped backward to avoid it.

“You. You have no right to speak to your Composer in such a fashion.”

Neku swallowed hard. He glanced toward Hanekoma. Joshua’s hand grabbed Neku’s chin and jerked his attention back.

“What did you promise him in return. Do not lie to me or I will Erase you.”

From the look in Joshua’s eyes it was a certainty. Neku shuddered. “He just…he just wanted in the next Game because he wants to come back.”

“Ridiculous,” Joshua’s voice was no longer Joshua’s. It was deep and resonant. His eyes glowed violet. “Perhaps I should make you his partner as I am beginning to question my decision to keep you around.”

“Josh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think-“ Neku was trapped. He couldn’t move. “He was going to destroy it.”

“Neku, the only thing destroyed is my trust and faith in you.”

There was a moment-a flicker of cruelty in Joshua’s eyes.

“Yes, I do think you’ve forgotten a lot of what you learned.” Joshua grinned.

It was practically evil.

Neku glanced out of the corner of his eyes at Hanekoma. He pleaded with the Producer but all Hanekoma did was turn away.

“Josh-“

Joshua kissed Neku on the mouth. It was forceful to the point of pain and when Neku tried to pull away, Joshua pinned him against the wall and explored the depths of Neku’s mouth with his tongue. Neku squirmed and gurgled in protest but Joshua did not relent.

It felt like dying. Joshua was going to suffocate him.

Eventually the Composer released him and Neku slid to the floor.

“A reminder,” Joshua said. He held his hand over Neku and cracked a cruel smile. “I wonder what your entrance fee will be this time?”

Neku felt his stomach drop. He heard Hanekoma shout at Joshua to stop but the sound was quickly cut off as the dark of unconsciousness gripped Neku and dragged him under.

He woke in pain. His entire body radiated with it.

“Hey,” a gentle voice, “do you want to make a pact with me?”

Neku stiffened. He jerked his gaze up at the boy but the sun obscured his face. Neku raised his arm to shield his eyes from the sun and the boy stepped closer to shade him.

“C’mon, would you?” The boy reached his hand out. “My name’s Minoru. What’s yours?”

Minoru. Why did that sound so familiar?

“N-neku,” he stammered out. “Do I know you?”

“Nope!” Minoru bounced on his heels. “Let’s make a pact and hurry. The Reapers are already on to the other Players and I certainly don’t want to be Noise chow.”

Neku took the boy’s hand. A familiar light encircled them and Neku gasped at the sensation. When it was over, Minoru seemed unfazed and continued bouncing happily.

“It says we need to get to 104. I guess they’re taking it easy on us,” Minoru said with a sigh. “Too bad. I was hoping for a little excitement. Hey, are you with me?”

The world around Neku wobbled and swam in his vision. He shakily stood and did a 180. It was Shibuya. Shibuya. Yeah.

Why was it he couldn’t remember anything else?

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Prompt #20 – It’s so dark in here…**

 

The third day.

Neku had to hand it to Minoru. If it wasn’t for the boy’s quick wit they’d probably have been Erased the day before. The puzzles were weird and Neku was having a hard enough time remembering where things were.

He hadn’t lost his memory entirely. On the second day he remembered his parents taking him to the beach or up to Hokkaido for a winter trip. All the memories outside of Shibuya were there in startling detail. But if the memory happened inside of Shibuya’s walls it was gone.

Minoru told him it must have been his entrance fee.

“So what was yours?” Neku had asked.

The boy skirted around the question. “It’s something more valuable than simple memories.”

Neku didn’t want to press, but in the calm of a six hour time limit, the question kept bothering him.

“I suppose today isn’t as easy.” Minoru was staring at his screen. “You have six hours. Far too much time to take care of a few simple Noise, hm?”

“Well, with your power and my psychs, I think we can manage.” Neku grinned up at Minoru from his spot on the ground in front of Mexican Dog. It was shaded from the sun and the smell of chili dogs felt familiar.

Minoru snapped his phone shut. “Hey, partner…are you up for a little game?”

“What, like this one isn’t time consuming enough?”

The boy laughed. It was a warm laugh-a happy laugh. “Oh, come on. Live a little.”

“Yeah, I think we can live a little once we’re not, y’know, dead.” Neku hopped up, dusted his pants off, and folded his arms across his chest. “But I’m up for anything.”

“I thought we might be able to shake some memories from that head of yours. I know it was your entrance fee but something has to have stuck in there.” Minoru was grinning like a cat. “Surely there’s something you hold more dear than memories?”

Neku crinkled his forehead in thought. “If I try to remember it hurts. All I can see is a bright wall of light. If I push there’s a voice. But I can’t make out what he’s saying.”

“He?” Minoru hid a laugh behind one hand. “I didn’t know you swung that way, Neku.”

“It’s not-,” he wanted to protest, but since he couldn’t remember. “I don’t know. It could just be a family member or maybe a friend.”

“Or something more,” Minoru teased. “C’mon. I want to go to Udagawa.”

“Why? Isn’t that just a stupid mural?”

Minoru shrugged. “It beats sitting around waiting for Noise to form.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Neku sighed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed his partner.

The speed at which they were walking was leisurely. Neku had time to take in the sights and sounds of the city of Shibuya. It all felt familiar somehow. The city was comforting and Neku often wanted to close his eyes and drown in the hustle and bustle. People wove around each other in a strange sort of dance. There were shopkeepers and students walking alongside business men and women. Neku smiled.

“I don’t know why but I think I love this city.”

Minoru glanced over his shoulder. “It would explain your entrance fee.”

“Yeah.” Neku looked up at the sky. “I guess it makes sense. You never told me what yours was though.”

“Maybe the Conductor forgot to collect it,” he giggled. “I don’t think anything is missing.”

Neku bounced up the stairs toward the mural. “Isn’t that, like, against the rules or something?”

Minoru flashed one of those dangerous grins at Neku. “The Conductor must be an idiot. Either that, or he was distracted by much shinier treasures.”

“For a game about life and death you’d think the moron would be more alert,” Neku snorted. But after he’d said it he felt awfully insulted.

“There it is,” Minoru pointed at the mural, “the most interesting piece of tag work in the entirety of Shibuya.”

Neku had to agree. The lines and color worked seamlessly together. He could feel an energy from it not unlike those Minoru and Neku used. There was imprinting at play. Neku could hear the gentle push of music against his soul, telling him to open up and trust. To become one with another to make the city great.

“Alright. I’m going to destroy it.”

“What?” Neku whirled around. “You can’t just destroy it. It’s-“

“It’s just a wall,” Minoru stepped close enough to touch it, “and it’s quite useless.”

Neku trusted his partner too much to argue. Surely the bright boy had a reason.

But it felt wasteful to destroy such an energetic piece of art.

“Neku, I will need the help of your psychs. Remember that one pin you found? I think it would be perfect.”

Reaching into his coat pocket he held the small pin in the palm of his non-ticking hand. All of the other pins he had started with were in his trouser pockets. But this one was in his coat. It depicted two hands reaching out palm to palm. Between the palms was a ball of energy. When they used it in battle it seemed to increase their attack power.

“Can we use this outside of battle?” Neku tossed the pin in the air and caught it.

“Of course! It must be special because it wasn’t with the others. Maybe it was a gift from before the Game? Whatever it is will break the imprinting on this wall and the Game should collapse.” Minoru reached out to Neku and took his hand. “If we take the Game over, we can make Shibuya into whatever we want.”

Neku wasn’t so sure. “Would everyone come back?”

“All of those not Erased would come back,” Minoru explained. “Unfortunately the others wouldn’t.”

“I guess we can give it a try. You haven’t been wrong yet,” Neku said. He trusted Minoru.

“Good. Give me your other hand.”

They linked hands with the pin between them before closing their eyes.

Neku could feel Minoru’s pull on his psych and the energy flowed into the pin. It grew warm-almost hot-and the air around them crackled with power. Neku kept his eyes closed and his energy steady as the wall built around the mural began to shatter.

It took a considerable amount of time to destroy the imprinting, but within the span of an hour it fell.

Minoru released Neku’s fingers as they both opened their eyes. “Perfect.”

The city around them had taken on a dull appearance. The mural was devoid of color and the streets no longer sang as they had before.

A passing pair of high schoolers bumped into Neku and shot a quick apology at him.

“Wait,” Neku stared at his hands, “no timer. Those kids-“

He turned his gaze toward Minoru and a sudden pain assaulted his eyes.

Hundreds of memories slammed into Neku, each one fighting for his attention. He could remember the bright wall and the boy behind it. The memory of playing chess and eating pizza came crashing through, and it was followed by the boy’s voice singing a song that resonated within Neku.

But when he looked toward Minoru, all he could remember was betrayal and anger.

“You,” Neku growled, “what have you done?”

“Oh no, Neku,” Minoru smiled sadistically, “I couldn’t have done it without you. Now with the barrier between RG and UG destroyed I can finally make Shibuya into the city I had always wanted it to be. All of these useless humans and their ignorant lives will be at my disposal. I can mold the city into a sparkling jewel in which I am the ruler. My Shibuya, my rules, and you’ll be there beside me.”

“Hell no!” Neku jumped toward Minoru with his fist raised.

Minoru quickly sidestepped Neku. “You shouldn’t attack the one you owe your new life to.”

“I was happy with the one I had!”

“Neku, Neku,” Minoru sighed, feigning disappointment. “I had thought we could avoid it but you’re going to be difficult aren’t you?”

Neku tried to throw an insult. He wanted to curse at Minoru and punch his prissy face in.

But Minoru had the pin. It glittered in his hand.

“Energy flows both ways, Neku. I wonder,” Minoru closed the distance between them, “how you will feel once you’ve gotten your revenge on Joshua? Though what I’m going to have you do to him is far worse than any gunshot would ever be.”

Neku’s consciousness snapped. He fell into a dark place. It was so dark Neku couldn’t fathom on how to climb his way back to being aware. Instead he sat defeated. He was stupid. He was so incredibly stupid to have trusted Minoru. And for what? Joshua’s heart. A stupid entrance fee that did nothing but make Joshua more of an asshole than before. Neku wanted to curl up into a ball and scream internally until his brain exploded.

This was all Neku’s fault. Shibuya was going to be destroyed and Joshua along with it.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Aside #7 – (between #20 - 21)**

 

Once Neku had disappeared from view, Joshua turned on Hanekoma. He was so incredibly angry at both of them but Neku was the only one he could deal with. His Producer, on the other hand, was a bit more tricky since he had angelic power. Joshua shot him a disapproving look and folded his arms over his chest.

It ached considerably. Joshua had forgotten what the emotion love could do to a person. He had been feeling everything else alright up until now. But with love added to the mix it was a torrent of emotion he could barely contain.

“I don’t feel like dealing with you, Sanae,” he growled the name. “Do not follow me.”

“Boss-“

Joshua didn’t wait. He disappeared to the Room of Reckoning. Neku had come up with a few choice names for the room behind Joshua’s back. He thought Joshua hadn’t heard him call it names like ‘Sir Prissy Pants’ Throne’. Joshua smiled at the memory before kicking himself for smiling. Damn emotions.

He was too nervous to sit in the throne. Instead he paced in front of it, each step echoing into the music of his precious city. He could feel Neku bouncing around in the music, his energy held until the next Game was to take place in a few days.

Minoru was also in there somewhere, but his angelic nature kept him hidden.

Joshua reached out to touch a couple of notes he knew belonged to Neku. He had almost forgotten to take his Conductor’s entrance fee. It was easy to forget, since the only other time he had to was with Megumi.

The entrance fee morphed from music into light, and soon became an object small enough to sit both of Joshua’s outstretched hands. It was a funny looking globe of glass. Inside was a scale model of Shibuya.

“Of course,” Joshua said, “you would love her more than I.”

Usually Joshua wouldn’t dare play with an entrance fee. Most of the time he would simply let them float about in the music until a Player won or the fee was forfeited. But the little glass globe was the only thing Joshua had left of Neku for an entire week.

It reminded him of nights playing chess or retro games. The memories triggered a cascade of emotion from love to peace and back around to anger and hate. He had hated Neku a few times for something so silly as making him feel human.

The globe rolled back and forth in Joshua’s hands. “Neku, you will come back to me, won’t you?”

A stray tune curled around his ear.

“I know you will. As for Minoru,” Joshua exhaled, “you must stop him.”

The dancing string of music swirled back into the stream of Shibuya and Joshua closed his hands around Neku’s rather adorable entrance fee. It disappeared.

“Damn my heart for feeling,” he hissed. “And damn you, Neku Sakuraba, for making it feel.”

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Aside #8 – (between #20 - 21)**

 

Neku wasn’t sure exactly how long he spent in darkness. It could have been weeks or months, or it could have been as little as a few minutes. There was nothing to mark the seconds except for his heartbeat, and Neku didn’t feel up to keeping track.

In the distance, Neku could hear growling. He assumed it was Noise come to eat him.

“Stop it, Neku,” he chastised himself. “You could just be hungry.”

The growling grew close. Neku couldn’t see anything but he could feel a living energy getting near. If it was Noise, Neku was toast. He didn’t have the control of his psychs-he’d tried-or any of his Conductor powers-he tried times infinity-and was basically reduced to a sitting duck.

Neku closed his eyes and curled into a ball. He waited for Erasure.

A cold, wet pressure rubbed against his cheek, followed by a hot tongue.

“Noise dog?” Neku reached out and felt fur. “Oh I am so glad to have you here.”

“You won’t be,” a girl’s voice, “once you learn who I really am.”

The room-or whatever it was-filled with light from a single source in the distance. Noise dog still sat in front of Neku but she appeared to be in some sort of trance. Further away was a girl in a school uniform Neku had never seen before. The skirt was too long to be a current fashion.

“Hello, Neku. I can finally talk to you.”

Neku pushed himself up to his feet. He hadn’t known he could stand. “Who are you?”

She smiled and tilted her head. A cascade of brown hair fell about her shoulders. “My name is Atsume Yoko. You’ve never met me in this form, but I’ve been watching over Joshua and you.”

“Why?” Neku stepped closer to her and the light grew. The closer he got, the less the darkness affected him, and he soon stood before her. She had the kindest blue eyes Neku had ever seen.

“I promised my partner I wouldn’t let him down,” she said.

Neku’s brain grinded. He suddenly realized what she meant. “You’re-“

“Yes. I’m Joshua’s partner. I find it hilarious you almost did the same thing he did to become Composer.”

“But since he’s Composer doesn’t that mean you won?”

Atsume giggled. “No, unfortunately. Minoru pitted us against each other. He told Joshua the only way to become Composer was to Erase me, since there’s only one Composer. I don’t believe he meant to do it.”

“So, what I did to Shiki…”

“If Hanekoma hadn’t made it in time, I would probably have bit you.”

Neku laughed nervously. “Yeah, good thing. Uhm, what did you mean by he didn’t mean it?”

“Joshua was a terrible partner. He always treated me like an underling. ‘Atsume, go do this’, or ‘Atsume, you don’t mind paying for dinner, do you?’” She folded her hands together behind her back. “He was powerful and had all this knowledge on the UG. We were set to win from the start. But his only concern was to find the Shibuya River and become the leader of the Game.”

“Yeah, he did that to me, too,” Neku said. It was nice talking to someone who had known Josh.

“At the end, Joshua was all in for fighting Minoru though our chances of winning were low. Joshua was a strategist and he knew how to work someone, and he was quite confident we would win with proper planning. He told me,” she glanced to the side, “’Atsume, I’m going to fix Shibuya. There won’t be a UG anymore’.”

“He wanted to get rid of the Game?”

“Yes. He had seen it his entire life and Shibuya continued to spiral down into darkness. It wasn’t as creative as he thought it should be and all of the negative energy was causing too much stress on what he called the Music of Shibuya. He was going to fix it by getting rid of all Noise and Players. There would be no second chances in his world.”

“Josh made me his proxy because he wanted to destroy Shibuya. But why didn’t he do it in the beginning if that’s what he was planning?”

Atsume sighed heavily. It sounded like the world was on her shoulders. “He feels guilty for Erasing me.”

“What?!”

Her eyes were still kind. They filled with apology. “Minoru set him on me, but the energy Joshua expelled wasn’t all his. I knew his energy. I had fought alongside it for a week. What hit me wasn’t Joshua’s energy.”

Neku cast his gaze at the floor. He couldn’t believe it. “Minoru.”

“I believe it was his intension to force Joshua not to destroy the UG. Joshua knew if he went ahead with his plan he would be Erasing the one person who didn’t judge him. Well, the one living person.”

“Damn it. How could I have been so stupid.”

“Well, you didn’t even notice Joshua saying your name twice before asking for it.”

Neku flinched. “Shit. He did, didn’t he?”

“Of course, I could chalk that up to the craziness of your long Game. But it was cute regardless,” she giggled behind one hand. “You silly peanut.”

“Don’t-don’t call me a peanut.”

Her expression relaxed. “Neku, Minoru has collapsed the barrier between the UG and the RG. He’s going to rewrite the entirety of the living Shibuya. You never collected an entry fee from him. He has his full Higher Plane powers along with your Conductor ability through the pin he gave you and the pact you made.”

“What? How-“ Neku felt frantic. “I’ve got to stop him.”

“Yes, you do. But,” Atsume frowned, “he has you trapped. The only way you can escape is if your music is rewritten to the frequency of the mixed RG and UG.”

“But how do I do that? I don’t know how to do that. Joshua never told me about any of this I-“

She placed a hand on his mouth. It was warm and soft. “Neku, there’s really only one way.”

Neku pulled away from her fingers. “What? I’ll do anything.”

“Please,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around Neku. “Please tell Joshua I’m so sorry for what happened and I have never, ever blamed him for it.”

“Can’t you come with me?” Neku felt compelled to hold her. His arms wrapped around her back and she giggled against his neck.

“No, silly peanut,” she said, her breath tickling against Neku, “because the only way for you to get out of here is through me.”

Neku was confused. He held onto Atsume even when she leaned back to look him full in the face.

“You are vibrating at an extremely low frequency. I was able to see you because you’re on the same level as an Erased Player. Don’t panic, you’re not Erased, not yet. But,” Atsume gently removed Neku’s hands from around her and held them, “you see my Noise form over there?”

He glanced back at the Noise dog. “Yeah?”

“I’m going to give her to you. If I disconnect from the music of Shibuya you have the option of using the energy of my Noise form to become Noise yourself for exactly seven seconds. When you do, you can get to Joshua before Minoru does. Oh, Neku, please,” she kissed his cheek, “you have to do this for me.”

“But you’ll die.”

She smiled. “Silly, silly peanut. I’m already dead. Now go. Hurry and save Shibuya. Save Joshua.”

“No!” Neku tried to hold her but his hands slipped through her body as it shifted into music.

“Neku, I’m so glad I got to meet you.”

He wanted to punch something-preferably Minoru-or scream to the Heavens. There was nothing he could do and he felt so incredibly powerless. He turned to the Noise dog.

Neku had no idea what he was doing. He reached his arms out, ignored the tears on his cheeks, and whistled.

“C’mere, girl.”

The darkness shattered around Neku into a thousand pieces of glittering glass shards.

He landed on his feet-all four of them-and found himself in the middle of a frozen city. The people were conscious but unmoving. They looked not unlike they had with the O-pins, but they weren’t mumbling a stupid phrase about conformity.

No, what they said shook Neku to his core.

“There is no hope. No hope except for Erasure.”

“Shit,” Neku barked, and took off for the Shibuya River.

He hoped Joshua had holed up in there and he hoped his Noise form was as fast as those damn wolves.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Prompt #21 – Stupid bats!**

 

Neku put as much speed into his paws as possible. The Noise form was unwieldy at best, but at least he could dodge the stray Noise still floating around in the city. He’d thought with the RG and UG combined it would have destroyed the Noise.

Then again he was Noise. Neku cursed himself for being stupid.

Not that he felt like Noise. His energy still radiated with the usual vibration. It just felt strange to be so low to the ground with the wind fluttering through his fur. He could also smell quite a bit of interesting scents intermingled with food, people, and asphalt.

The Shibuya River wasn’t far ahead. Neku booked it to the entrance where it sudden became pitch black. He could hear twittering and scratching against the walls and ceiling. It was hard to make out anything but glints of light off a thousand sets of eyes, but with his heightened senses Neku could tell it was Noise.

Bat Noise.

Neku stood at the ready, his front held low to the ground in case he needed to use his back legs to leap away. The Noise screeched and flew at him in a wave of sharp wings and even sharper teeth.

He bounded around the first wave, flipped past the second, but the third was too quick and Neku tumbled on the ground.

“Stupid bats!” He yelled, but it came out as a growl.

Neku was backed into a corner. His legs shook and his tail swished back and forth. The bats came flying at him again and he closed his eyes before jumping into the fray.

A soft something hit him in the side and he rolled over the pavement to the edge of a puddle. The bat Noise scattered and quickly flew outside of the sewer. Neku sniffed the air and nearly jumped out of his skin at the familiar scent.

“S-shiki?!”

“Neku?”

It was still dark in the sewer. A light flicked on-she’d brought a flashlight-and Neku felt his tail wag of its own volition.

His friends. His friends were there. He wasn’t sure how or why but Neku was incredibly grateful not to be on his own against the Noise.

“Yo, man, what’chu doin’ in a dog?”

Neku wanted to explain. He wasn’t sure how to change back to a human since Joshua hadn’t been exactly forthcoming with the information. Neku assumed it was a lot like his wings, and he curled down on the floor to concentrate. The music shivered around him and he felt something pop.

The room felt weird for a fraction of a second and suddenly he was standing on his own two legs again.

“Oh, thank God,” he exhaled. “I thought I’d be stuck in that form-WAH!”

Shiki had ran up to hug him tightly. “I don’t know what’s happening but I’m so glad you’re not crazy.”

“Well,” he began to argue, but stopped. His arms wrapped around Shiki. “I’m glad you guys are here but I don’t understand why it didn’t affect you?”

“I dunno, man,” Beat was scratching his head, “but Rhyme an’ me were cool. I made ‘er stay at home.”

“Probably for the best,” Neku said.

“So, Neku,” Shiki had pulled away, “what’s happening?”

Neku frowned and kicked a small rock into a puddle. “How much do you guys remember about those three weeks?”

“’dat ain’t important,” Beat said. “Now’s the only thing that is.”

“Okay,” Neku sighed, “well let’s just say I screwed up big time and made a deal with an angel who turned out to be an asshole.”

Shiki tilted her head in confusion. “Joshua?”

If it had been any other moment Neku would have laughed. “No, not him. Though he has been acting like King Douche again. No, this guy’s kind of a prick.”

A rough, amused voice came to them from the entrance. “My, Neku. I didn’t know you had such a high opinion of me.”

“Minoru,” Neku hissed and jumped in front of his friends without hesitation. “I’m not gonna let you through here without a fight.”

“Aw, the kitten thinks he has teeth,” Minoru teased. He walked toward Neku with one hand in his right trouser pocket. When he removed it, the pin sat tucked between two fingers. “I don’t know how you got out of your little prison but I’m going to put you back in there with your meddling friends.”

Neku made a grab for the pin. It tumbled from Minoru’s hand and they fell to the filthy sewer floor in a tangle of limbs. The pin bounced into one of the streams of runoff. Neku kept Minoru busy by wrestling him on the ground despite being kicked and bit.

“Get the pin!” Neku managed to bark out before Minoru punched him in the jaw. He could feel something crack and the taste of blood in his mouth. “Fuck.”

“Yo, I’m on it!” Beat didn’t seem to mind the muck as he dove into the stream after the pin.

Shiki called, “Go Mr. Mew!”

The stuffed toy attached itself to Minoru’s face. Minoru shrieked and began clawing at the seams of the doll. It gave Neku enough time to get out of Minoru’s grasp.

Unfortunately, Mr. Mew didn’t fare as well. Minoru ripped him limb from limb in an impressive shower of fabric, thread, and stuffing.

“No!” Shiki began to rush toward him.

Neku knocked her back just as Minoru shot a beam of energy at them. It tore into Neku’s back and he screamed in agony. At least Shiki hadn’t been hit. But Neku’s skin burned and he could feel the moisture of blood soaking into the shreds of his clothing. He managed to stand-albeit shakily-and face Minoru.

“Shiki, Beat, get to Joshua. Please make sure he’s okay.”

“Aight,” Beat had the pin, “le’s bounce, Shiki.”

“But, Neku-“

Neku reached out, intent on giving her a nudge forward, but his hand sparked and a geometric wall formed between him and his friends. “Go!”

“You are going to regret your actions, Sakuraba-san.” Minoru wiped at his mouth. It was bleeding. “I’m going to make you suffer. You will beg for death but I won’t allow it.”

“Fuck you,” Neku ground out. “Bring it on you pompous bastard.”

Minoru’s expression shifted from anger to a sort of insane, ear to ear grin. “With pleasure.”

A grey light encircled Minoru. He rose from the ground with a pair of large wings. Neku had seen the wings before and he wasn’t impressed. But frilly wings weren’t the end of his transformation.

The once Composer laughed menacingly and spread his arms wide. His body decayed, his skin flaked off, and his once human form had become not unlike a biblical angel.

Neku shivered. Shit.

“Now, Sakuraba-san, feel the full force of my angelic power.”

The multi-winged creature was flanked by two large wheels covered in eyes. His body was surrounded by white flame that burned the air around it, making it hard to breathe. Minoru’s eyes were black pools swirling with silver flecks.

Neku knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Hell, he was probably going to become a tiny grain of sand by the end of the battle. But he had to fight.

This was all his fault. If it meant dying to protect Shibuya he would.

“I’m sorry, Josh,” he whispered under his breath.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Minoru’s voice boomed against the walls of the sewer. “He won’t be far behind you.”

Neku clenched his fists. “Not if I have anything to say about it, asshole.”

The light engulfed them both as Neku jumped toward Minoru.

* * *

 

  
**Twewytober Prompt #22 – Only destruction**

 

The Room of Reckoning shook with the sound of battle. Joshua wasn’t sure if he should investigate or if staying put would be smarter. After the RG and UG had melded together, Joshua’s power had dipped to it’s lowest point. It was even weaker than when he’d partnered with Neku in the second week. It worried him to be so incredibly defenseless.

Thankfully Sanae had shown up and was currently waiting in the Dead God’s Pad. If Minoru made it through Hanekoma, Joshua had no chance of destroying the ex-Composer.

A shiver curled down Joshua’s spine as the music of Shibuya strained like a wire. It was discordant and sharp, twinging and twanging not unlike an un-tuned guitar. The twisting tumble of notes made Joshua queasy and his hold on the frequency he vibrated at was coming loose.

“Hey!”

Joshua whirled around to see Neku’s friends rush into the room. He was surprised, but instantly he knew what exactly had happened. Though Neku’s friends had been slowly forgetting the Game to protect Joshua and the Reapers, Hanekoma must have been keeping an eye on them for such occasions.

“No wonder,” Joshua said with a smile, “he kept you close. How is the portfolio coming along?”

Shiki squeaked. “Uh, okay I guess but that’s not important!”

“Obviously,” he sighed. “I apologize for bringing you into this.”

“Yo, prissy, I ain’t doin’ dis for you. I’m doin’ it for Shibuya.”

Joshua smiled again. He sat down on the throne, feeling small and light. His human form was shivering and his legs were starting to shake. “I suppose I should be grateful, but what can you do against an angel?”

“Man, dat ain’t no angel,” Beat huffed.

“I have to agree with him,” Shiki said. She came to stand beside Joshua’s left side.

Beat fell into place on Joshua’s right. “Yeah, man. Don’chu worry ‘bout a thing.”

“Did Neku come with you? I would look remotely but my powers are too weak.”

Shiki looked down at Joshua and placed a hand on his shoulder. “He’s fighting Minoru. I’m afraid he’s not going to make it. He was hurt pretty bad when he forced us away.”

“How badly?” Joshua moved to stand-as if he could do anything-and collapsed back into the throne.

“Well, I think his jaw was broken and he protected me from an attack. His back was bleeding and with the crack I heard, I’m sure his ribs are fractured. I don’t think-“

“Don’t say it, yo!” Beat punched one hand into another. “Phone’s is more powerful than dat.”

“Yes,” Joshua closed his eyes and leaned back, “I believe in Neku.”

Shiki clapped her hands. “Of course! I need to believe in him, too.”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s gonna do fine.” Beat grinned and smacked Joshua’s in the shoulder.

A loud rumble reverberated through the very fabric of Shibuya. The ceiling began to crumble and the floor developed a large crack to the middle of the room. Joshua curled inward. It hurt.

“Hang on, Joshua!” Shiki wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “C’mon, Beat, help me get him up.”

Beat slid an arm around Joshua’s back and lifted him easily. “Where we goin’?”

“Joshua, is there someplace safe to go?” Shiki gently slapped Joshua’s face. “Stay with us.”

“I can’t,” he whispered. The music was beginning to unravel and he felt his form begin to break down. If it went any further, Joshua would be absorbed into the broken melody of Shibuya.

The sound of heavy footfalls echoed toward them. Hanekoma looked worse for wear but managed to stand in front of them. “Josh, y’need to-“

“I’m not going to run,” he groaned. “I have to stay here.”

“How admirable!” Minoru glided into the room. His wings were dotted with blood but otherwise he appeared intact and uninjured.

Joshua felt Shiki’s arm tighten on him. “We’re not afraid of you.”

“You should be,” he hissed. “Your precious Conductor is no longer and your Producer can barely fend off my attacks. Joshua, you know what is going to happen, right? I’m going to enjoy absorbing the pitiful song you’ve become.”

“As Neku would say,” Joshua trembled, “fuck you.”

Minoru laughed. “But isn’t this what you wanted, little one? To unite the RG and UG and make the world better by Erasing those who didn’t fit your ideal?”

“No!” He managed to scream. His insides were on fire. “I didn’t want what you’re doing!”

“Then what possibly did you hope to accomplish?”

Joshua shoved Shiki and Beat from him. He pushed Hanekoma aside and stood directly before Minoru.

“I was going to rewrite Shibuya’s music. I was going to make her beautiful. I wasn’t,” he groaned, “I wasn’t going to kill her citizens. I would have…I would have rewritten them to be better than they were.”

Minoru leaned down to glare at Joshua face to face. “You’re a foolish child. These humans you think are so wonderful are headed for destruction-only destruction. But I will use their lives to make Shibuya better than you could ever have imagined.”

“Oh, really?”

Joshua nearly fell over from snapping his head around Minoru. “Neku!”

“D’ya think I’d go down that easily, jackass?”

“How?!”

“Heh,” Neku stumbled forward, “energy goes both ways.”

Shiki gasped. “The pin!”

She had her hands held out. The pin was glowing brightly.

Neku grinned. “Yeah, guess you didn’t think that one through, partner.”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER,” Minoru screamed and the room shuttered at the vibration of his voice. “I will destroy all of you and this world will be mine.”

“You’re wrong,” Joshua managed to squeak out. “This world belongs to no one and everyone. No single leader is allowed to rule her. We have to work together to make Shibuya great.”

Minoru snarled. He shot a wing out to knock Neku across the room. Another wing snapped Hanekoma to the opposite side.

Shiki and Beat jumped in front of Joshua.

The wheels on either side of Minoru began to spin at an alarming speed. It blew the pair away from Joshua.

“Josh!” Shiki shouted as she tossed the pin to him.

He barely caught it.

Minoru was upon Joshua, pressing him into the hard floor. “Give up.”

“Never,” Joshua spat. He curled his fingers around the pin and squeezed until the needle point dug into the palm of his hand. The blood trickled between his fingers and he shouted. “Neku, help yourself!”

Neku froze for a second. He had managed to stand. “Help your-“

In a second’s time the pin activated.

“Ha!” Minoru glared at Neku. “You think making a pact with this disgusting failure of a Composer will do anything to stop me from killing you?”

Neku grinned. “Yeah.”

A painful jolt of energy shot deep into Joshua’s core. His spirit began to rebuild and he could feel the music of Shibuya attempting to repair. His body thrummed with power and his Composer form came out with an explosion of bright light.

“No! It’s not possible!” Minoru leapt back from Joshua. His expression was twitching between confusion and frustration.

“Anything’s possible,” Joshua giggled. He stepped forward, and with each step Minoru snarled and backed away. “Come on, Neku.”

Joshua felt a flood of energy as Neku pushed his Conductor power into him. Behind Joshua he could feel Hanekoma attempting to send his own.

Two hands touched Joshua’s shoulders and he glanced behind him to see Shiki and Beat standing on either side of him with looks of determination.

“For Shibuya,” Shiki said.

Joshua smiled peacefully. “Yes. For Shibuya.”

The room shook violently. Chunks of ceiling and floor exploded from the waves of music coming off of Joshua and Minoru. Their light intermingled and blinded everyone gathered in the Room of Reckoning.

There was an earthquake. The scream of a thousand voices.

And then, silence reigned.

* * *

 

**Twewytober Prompt #23 – Let the light save you**

 

It was quiet for far too long.

The room had dissipated into light and air.

Joshua was in the center of it all and he could barely make out the shapes of everyone else who had been involved in the battle. They were collapsed but their music was still ringing brightly around him. At least they were alive.

Sitting up, Joshua could see Minoru a few feet away. He wasn’t an angel. He was just a boy. A shivering, shaking pile of humanity. Joshua closed the distance between them and knelt down to put one hand on Minoru’s shoulder.

The ex-Composer tried to pull away but Joshua’s hand was firm. “Leave me alone. You won, alright?”

Joshua looked upon Minoru with pity. He was just a child-small and insignificant.

“Are you going to gloat before Erasing me?” Minoru hissed. “Go on, get your petty revenge.”

“I would have once,” Joshua whispered softly. He kissed the top of Minoru’s head and pulled him into a gentle embrace, wings encircling them. “Neku has taught me to be more patient. Besides, what good would it do for Shibuya to see her Composer mindlessly destroy another?”

Minoru fought the embrace but he quickly collapsed into it. “I deserve nothing less.”

“No, you deserve to be heard.” Joshua closed his eyes and held Minoru tighter. “I should have seen it. The pain and fear in your eyes. I should have felt the discord and anger in your soul. It was much like my own. How I hated Shibuya and her people for treating us like lesser beings.”

The ex-Composer tilted his head up. “Joshua…”

“You saw it, too, didn’t you?”

Minoru tucked his head under Joshua’s chin. “I was locked away in a room of disappointment. My parents acted as if I had died. I might as well have. The life I had was composed of four walls and a small window to the world outside. I hated the people who roamed free. I hated Shibuya for allowing such an injustice.”

“Anger does nothing for creativity,” Joshua explained. “You will be punished for what you did, but I will not be the one to mete it out.”

“The angels will come soon,” Minoru said. His voice was growing quiet.

“Shh,” Joshua smiled, “let the light save you. Become one with Shibuya. Show the Higher Ups exactly what you can do to improve her.”

Minoru shifted in Joshua’s embrace. He stared into Joshua’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

Joshua’s eyes remained locked on Minoru’s as the boy slowly dissolved into energy. The music was broken and weak, but Joshua easily pulled it into himself.

It would take years-perhaps hundreds-for Minoru’s soul to repair. After all the cruelty and hate he’d suffered and suffered upon others there was still a small chance for hope. Joshua placed a hand to his chest.

It was warm.

“Son of a bitch,” Neku’s voice. “Where the hell am I?”

Joshua turned toward him. “Oh, this? We’re in the middle of Shibuya’s melody.”

“What about-“ Neku glanced around for the others. “Shiki and Beat, are they okay?”

“I wouldn’t allow them to be harmed,” Joshua said. He glided over to Neku. “Are you hurt?”

Neku wiggled his jaw. “Nothing that won’t heal with time.”

“You stood beside me after all I’ve done to you. Why, Neku?”

“I kinda deserved it after ignoring you. You only had my best interest at heart. Ah, speaking of hearts-“

Joshua rubbed his chest. “It doesn’t hurt anymore, but I feel like an idiot again.”

“Weren’t you always?” Neku poked him in the arm. “Wait, no, that was me.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at Neku before wrapping his arms around him. “At least you know it.”

“Josh,” Neku whispered, “uhm…”

Joshua pulled away with a smile. He half expected Neku to tell him something sweet or sappy. “Yes, Neku?”

“You’re kinda hurting my ribs.”

He jerked back from his Conductor. It was true what Shiki had said. Neku’s ribs were fractured and one peeked out from his skin. “Good thing you didn’t puncture a lung.”

“I guess,” Neku grunted. “Hey-“

Joshua placed his hands on the ribs and concentrated. The music tickled through his fingers and over Neku’s skin to fuse bone and knit flesh. It felt good to be able to use his powers again.

“So what’s gonna happen to Shibuya?” Neku said, taking in a deep breath. “The RG and UG are still collapsed aren’t they?”

“As easily as I can repair you, Neku, I can repair our city. Now let me see your mouth.”

Neku’s jaw was cracked. Joshua ran a finger along the bone and it snapped back into its proper place. His dear Conductor had hundreds of little cuts and scrapes intermixed with teeth marks on his skin.

“He bit you?” Joshua giggled. “My.”

“Oh, shut up,” Neku grumbled playfully. He was staring at Joshua with an odd collection of emotions.

It was quick.

Neku was kissing him.

Joshua did nothing to fend it off. He wrapped his arms around Neku and took control of the kiss to part Neku’s shivering lips with his tongue. Their music twirled and twisted together as they kissed. Neku moaned and held onto Joshua with shaking hands.

When they broke off, Neku was breathing heavily and shivering in Joshua’s arms. “Wow. I mean, wow.”

“Mmm, yes. It felt like paradise.”

Neku smirked. “I’m not a chili dog, Josh.”

“No, but I’ll eat you up all the same.”

His Conductor’s face turned red as a beet.

Joshua giggled and pulled him back in for a shorter, lighter peck on the lips.

“Uh,” a gruff voice behind them, “Boss, y’think, y’know…”

“Oh, right. I suppose we could pick this up later, Neku. Shibuya needs us to put her back together. Hanekoma,” Joshua turned to his Producer, “put the children back the way they were and return them to their homes. You know they cannot remember the details of their little side quest.”

“Yep.” Hanekoma rubbed his hands together like he was about to start an amazing art project. “C’mon, kiddos.”

They winked out of the light. Joshua watched Neku and Neku watched him.

“Neku, I have many questions for you,” he said, “and a few confessions to make.”

“Meh, don’t worry about it for now. I think it’s Thursday or Friday. Not exactly chess day,” Neku mused, scratching at his neck, “but I feel like deep dish pizza.”

“The sooner I can get Shibuya put back together, the sooner we can relax. Do you mind returning home without me? I have quite a lot of work.”

Neku rose to his feet and held out a hand. “Nuh uh. I’m not leaving you alone for a long time.”

Joshua took Neku’s hand, kissed it, and threaded their fingers together. “Good. I was hoping to teach you how to repair music with other circumstances but this will have to do.”

The light shimmered around them as they disappeared into the fabric of Shibuya.


End file.
